


I'll Stay With You

by IcyDeath



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Elysium, Fields of Asphodel, Hurt/Comfort, In Asphodel everyone forgets, Isles of Blest, M/M, Not really that sorry though, Rebirth, Spirits, The three judge guys with golden masks, i'm sorry guys, suicide attempt sort of ch3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-02-27 06:37:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2682899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyDeath/pseuds/IcyDeath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hardly anything changed in the Fields of Asphodel, spirits would wander and scream and try to remember who they were. No one ever got out, no one ever remembered. And everything remained the same, everything was darkness and solitude, until a boy with dark hair and sad eyes came… and stayed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry guys. I'm really sorry (why am I apologizing? You'll find out soon)

_ “Freedom is not worth it without him.”   
― [Santino Hassell](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4942228.Santino_Hassell),  _[Fade](http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/16686905)_ _

 

 

**.I.**

He learned not to question why he was here, he realized that if he asked, he'd keep asking and probably end up as insane and lost as the other spirits that passed by him.

He tried not to think back to the  _before_ , it was by thinking about  _before_  that made these souls restless and wander for a way out.

He knew there was no way out.

So he trudged on. He walked and looked around and saw faces upon faces that made no sense that expressed different stages of agitation and grief and loss of hope. There probably was a time that it used to get to him but then he realized he was just like them and since he did not pity himself, he learned not to pity them. Even  _if_ there was a time he pitied himself, he didn't remember.

 

**.II.**

He didn't know why he didn't talk.

He knew that the others like him could talk. He heard their endless whispers, their desperate questions…

_Who am I?_

_Where am I?_

_What am I doing here?_

And he had the same questions, only he tried not to think about it and tried not to voice it out loud. Not saying anything eased a coiled emotion in his heart, an emotion he probably lost the name for a long time ago.

He didn't know why he didn't talk. Probably, once upon a time, he  _did_  know but just forgot. Like how he forgot his name, his face,  _before_.

He at least remembered that he forgot a lot of things.

 

**.III.**

Something changed in the Fields of Asphodel one day. An insignificant day like every other thousands, hundreds, or maybe million days he'd spent walking and walking, not knowing where he was headed. It was an insignificant day, but something changed.

A teen or a man (he couldn't distinguish one over the other anymore, he didn't know what made a person a man or a child) walked among the Fields of Asphodel, his hair and eyes as dark as shadows, he wore a dark overcoat, a sword on his side. He walked like a warrior, a soldier who has had enough of wars, his shoulders heavy with an unseen burden.

The confused spirits made way for him, eyed him hungrily. They knew, as he did, that the teen (a man?) was not one of them, that he was different. Shadows clung to his form, serving as a barrier from the hungry spirits.

The teen (or man) stopped in front of him, he looked younger than he thought but his eyes were older, sadder, for a person who did not dwell in Asphodel.

The spirits all around kneeled and he knew that it was not to their liking. There was just something about this person, a power that demanded respect. He was about to kneel too but the person dressed in shadows reached out a hand and held his face (he forgot he had a face, that he even had a form, but this dark person must be doing something, because he could feel his soft touch even through his glove).

"I'm sorry I took awhile," He said, "But I'm here now."

His words did not make sense, not in the Fields where everything was a question that would never be answered.

But the teen's words soothed him and despite the never-ending coldness of the Fields, he felt warm.

He wondered if someone ever held him like this before.

 

**.IV.**

"Nico." The teen had said this was his name, but the tone was weary. He probably told him his name a dozen times, a hundred, but it was of no use. He could never remember especially when the dark teen- Nico, he told himself- left. The Fields of Asphodel erased everything: your past, your identity, your soul.

He wondered why the dark one continued to tell him his name.

Nico had probably come to him a dozen, a hundred, a thousand times, but he could never remember anything from before today, before walking, and searching, and asking himself who he was, where he was, why he was here.

But he knew that Nico had become a constant in the Field, the lone prince of darkness that walked through a thousand spirits, looking for  _him_. He wanted to ask him why, but maybe he'd forgotten  _how_  to talk, just like how he'd forgotten  _why_  he  _didn't_ talk.

So, he didn't say a word and just looked at this impossibility he'd forgotten until he'd come back to remind him that he was here. That he was always here, that he will  _always be_  here.

He had the urge to ask why.

But he didn't.

And later, when Nico would leave again, he would forget.

 

**.V.**

"You're different from them." Nico told him one time (or maybe a dozen times, he forgets, he  _always_ forgets). He would reach out with his darkly gloved hand and take the hands he didn't know (he forgot) he had, until that moment. "Do you know what you look like?"

He blinked and shook his head. He didn't even know he looked like anything. Everyone in the Field looked the same. Faceless spirits with lost looks on their faces.

Nico's thumb drew circles on his palm and he watched for awhile before looking up at pained dark eyes. Did the pain have something to do with him? Did he cause that pain? Why does Nico keep looking for him when all it caused him was grief?

"You have blonde hair, as bright as the sun." Nico said and he intertwined their fingers, ghostly and mist-like against black leather. "Your eyes are as clear as the cloudless sky, did you know?"

No, he didn't.

He'd forgotten.

So he shook his head and Nico's grip on his hand tightened. The impossibly dark eyes dimmed and he bowed his head, shoulders shaking. He said one word, one word that seemed impossibly familiar in this atmosphere of forgetting and losing yourself.

"Will."

 

**.VI.**

He couldn't remember a time when the impossible, dark-clothed teen didn't come. To him, there was no  _before_  the prince of darkness, even if there was, he didn't remember.

He wouldn't want to, even if he tried.

"Nico." The prince of the dark would tell him once he'd come to view. He guessed it probably became a greeting for them, since he'd always forget who the prince was and only remembered when he would come. "How are you doing today?"

Maybe if he'd remember emotions or how to use his facial expressions, he'd give him an exasperated or incredulous look. Nico knew nothing ever changed in Asphodel.

Nico gave him a small smile, as though he'd read what he'd thought despite his probably blank face. "It's pleasantries. There's this thing called manners in the mortal world."

There was a mortal world. Something beyond this endless field of walking and asking yourself what you've forgotten, who you've forgotten,  _why_  you've forgotten.

But instead of asking himself if he'd once been part of that, if he'd once had an  _identity_  other than the spirit who walked among spirits, he asked himself  _instead_  why Nico was here. Why was he in the Fields of people who always forgot and who knew nothing about themselves and each other? Why was he not somewhere that was  _not here_?

But Nico could not read minds, so he sat down on the field of endless footprints made by spirits who tried to go to the end of the Fields of Asphodel. The prince looked up at him and gave him a small smile that was both sad and tired.

He felt an unexpected tug at his chest.

 

**.VII.**

A woman (he presumed it to be a woman, he'd like to think he didn't forget to distinguish between genders at the very least, like how he knew he was a  _he_  and that the dark prince was a  _he_ ), with hair like brown earth and gold dust, appeared before him instead of the dark-haired prince he was used to. Another anomaly in the Fields, and it all seemed to be happening to him.

Her face was kind and warm, golden eyes standing out in her features and there was something familiar in them, something about her that was like the dark-haired prince that visited.

She was older than the dark-haired teen, but the prince's eyes were sadder and so much older than hers. The spirits all around paused, staring at her as though she was the answer to all their questions.

"My name is Hazel Levesque." She said in a kind voice, again, different from the prince. "I am the daughter of Pluto. Pluto is the one who looks over everything in the Underworld. I'm Nico's sister."

Nico. He remembered  _again_  the prince's name.

Still, he didn't know why she was speaking to him. In this field of a million spirits, he was nothing special.

The woman smiled as though she'd read his thoughts and she reached forward to take his hands. They were warm, warmer than Nico's but they didn't make him remember that he had a form, that he was once alive.

Hazel's eyes were sad now, like molten gold as she stared into his eyes, "I'm Nico's  _younger_  sister."

In his nearly ghost-like form, he didn't think it was possible to freeze, but he stilled, and he knew that if he remembered how to, he would have looked at her with surprise.

Nico's  _younger sister_  and Nico was younger than a man and this woman was clearly older.

But she was his  _younger sister_.

The woman ( _Hazel_ , he firmly told his mind) blinked back tears from her eyes, "Do you understand, Will?"

He understood, he knew very well what she was trying to tell him, but it didn't make sense and in the end, it wouldn't matter.

Because later, he would forget.

Regardless, Hazel went on, brushing a stray tear from her face as he looked right at him, eyes so,  _so_  sad. Too sad for a person who did not dwell in Asphodel.

"He gave up everything for you."

 

**.VIII.**

The dark prince stumbled towards him, appearing in shadows, expression worn and tired. "I'm Nico." The prince introduced himself as always when he found him. He stared into sad, dark eyes, gloved hands taking his ghost-like hands.

There was an undercurrent of something that resembled electricity there. It was familiar.

But nothing should be familiar.

He looked at the gloved-hands, curling his own against the other's. Nico blinked at him and asked, "Did something happen?"

_I don't know._  He'd like to say, because even if something  _did_  happen, he wouldn't remember. For the first time he felt something in his chest coil.

He realized it was frustration.

His agitation was new to him and it came off him in waves that had Nico stepping closer to him, forehead crinkled in worry. "What's wrong?" Nico had asked but he  _should_   _know_  what's wrong and he shouldn't be asking someone who'd forgotten everything, even his own identity.

"Will…" And it was that name again. That name that was familiar but was something he'd never heard before now (or if he had heard before, then he'd  _forgotten_  it like everything else). Was that his name? Was that who he was? Was that the reason why Nico came here, in this Field of lost souls and forgotten memories? Did he come here looking for a person that couldn't remember him and even worse couldn't remember himself?

Had Nico come all this way, sacrificed so much, just for a shadow of a person he used to know?

His hands on the dark glove tightened even more and he felt his face make an expression for the first time, probably one of frustration, that surprised the dark prince.

He opened his mouth and spoke the question that echoed in every Asphodel dweller's mind, "Who am I?" He asked as he looked at Nico. "Who am I? And who are you?"

Dark eyes were wide at his words but he couldn't stop and kept asking.

" _Who are you_?" He asked in a firm tone, "Who am I to you? And who are you to me?" He shook his head, "Why are you  _here_?"

The expression Nico gave him made him want to curl against himself. It reminded him of his reason why he didn't talk in the first place. He knew that if he opened his mouth, anything that he would say would only add to someone's suffering, be it his own or someone else's.

He didn't want his words to break someone's heart.

 

**.IX.**

Everything was silent and for the first time the frustration in him gave way to fear that had nothing to do with the thought of wandering the fields of Asphode. He wondered if he'd destroyed the one constant thing he'd like to have in the Fields. He wondered if the teen with the sad eyes would leave now and realize he was just like every lost soul, a shadow of what he used to be.

But then Nico spoke.

"You don't need to know who I am or who you are. You don't need to ask why, you don't even have to remember, it's okay." Gloves were taken off and for the first time, his mist-like hands touched Nico's warm ones. He remembered he had a heart and if it was beating it would probably trip on itself at the touch. "You just have to  _know_  that I'll be here, that I'll  _always_  be here."

Their fingers intertwined and a distant memory echoed in his mind, something about baby satyrs and giving birth and darkness.

And amidst his confusion, amidst the familiarity and the frustration… Nico whispered.

" _I'll stay with you."_

He wondered if it was possible for a heart that long stopped beating to beat again just from the words alone.

 

**.X.**

Three black-robed figures in golden masks stared down at him. It was a familiar scene, one from a long time ago, when a soul of a brother had been in the balance.

He could feel the memory burning at the back of his head. It was fuzzy, but it was better than nothing. Being away from the Fields of Asphodel was doing wonders to his lost memories. He looked to the side and saw a familiar person clad in a dark overcoat. His pale skin stood out amongst the dark shadows and the three golden-masked judges. He was familiar but he didn't know (remember) who he was.

"Will Solace, son of Apollo." He snapped his head back and he recognized his own name for the first time. He repeated it in his head.  _Will Solace._ He repeated to himself,  _Will Solace, that's my name. I'm Will Solace, I'm a son of Apollo._

_Solace means comfort. Sol is Italian for sun._  He remembered somebody told him this once, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember who.

"A demigod healer who helped in the war against Kronos and the war against Gaea." The judge on the right said, "He died saving a son of Apollo who had betrayed the gods and their children to the Titans' followers. Refused Elysium and accepted the offer of the Fields of Asphodel for him and his brother instead of the Fields of Punishment for the traitor."

As the judges talked, it all came back to him: How after the fight with Gaea they'd found peace for a few years until their camp was attacked by Gaea and the Titan's remaining devoted followers. He'd saved as many as he could, putting his life on the line and when he'd found out that it was his brother who'd betrayed them and let the monsters in during the time when the camp was with the least demigods, he'd gone after him and tried to convince him back to their side. He died saving his brother from the Titans' followers who backstabbed him in the end.

"I remember." Will said, breathing out in surprise before his eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Why have you called me back, after all this time? I still don't think Mike deserved the Fields of Punishment. He repented in the end!"

The middle judge snorted, "Worry not for your brother, Will Solace. We will not throw him to the Fields of Punishment, the decision for that has long passed." He said, "We have called you here to offer you the chance of Elysium once more."

The son of Apollo gaped and looked at them disbelievingly, "Why?"

The last judge, the one on the right, sighed, "You have shown selflessness only one other demigod had ever portrayed, Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pluto did the same for her mother, despite everything Marie Levesque had done to her." He said, "This selflessness and your dedication to the gods is more than deserving to enter the place of heroes."

Blue eyes looked at each one of them in turn, "No, that's not the reason why you're letting me go. There's something else." He contemplated before reaching an answer, "Someone convinced you to let me go." He said, surprised.

The three judges grunted in annoyance.

"The circumstances that led to this decision are none of your concern." The one on the right said, "These are special circumstances, learn to accept that and just be thankful."

Will opened his mouth, possibly to annoy them enough to tell him who it was that got him out, when the person leaning against the shadows stepped forward to intervene.

"That's enough." The teen with dark-hair said, pointedly glaring at the judges. "The sentence to welcome Will Solace into Elysium has been passed." Maybe it was just Will's imagination, but the teen seemed to have tripped over his name. "You may leave." He made a sweeping gesture with his hand and the three judges were covered by shadows that took them away without protest. "I apologize, it was exactly those attitude of theirs that caused traffic in the judgment section of the Underworld."

Will just blinked and looked at the pale teen in his dark overcoat and dark sword on his side. The teen wasn't looking at him. "I know you."

The teen turned to him, eyebrow raised, "Do you? I doubt it."

"No, but-" Will's eyebrows crinkled, "You seem familiar."

The teen seemed to look at him with pity. But there was something about his eyes that seemed almost  _sad_ , "You just came from the Fields of Asphodel. It often messes with a person's perception." He said as he led Will towards the gates of Elysium, "You don't know me."

Will highly doubted that, but for some reason he couldn't call up memories with this specific person so he had no choice but not to pursue the matter anymore or he might get kicked out of the Underworld.

The teen beside him chuckled, as though he knew what he was thinking about. He blinked at the other in confusion, "You look like you're worrying that you'd be kicked out." He said, "I can assure you that no one would kick you out of here. Well, I won't let them anyway."

The blonde gave him a surprised look before smiling, "Thanks."

The dark-haired teen seemed to freeze, giving him a wide-eyed look.

"Uhm, are you okay?"

His companion cleared his throat, "I'm fine. Just-" He waved it off, "It's nothing. We're here." He said, gesturing to the ivory arches decorated with golden vines that led to the Underworld's Elysium.

"Huh, Elysium." Will looked up. He wondered how long he'd been here, if his friends were already on the other side, all waiting for him. A thought came to him and he turned to the dark-haired teen, "So, am I gonna be seeing you here after you, you know,  _pass on_  too?"

"I can't ever pass through here." The teen gave him an indifferent look as he said, "I'm immortal."

Will blinked as disappointment and something more churned in his stomach. "Oh." He said and then unable to help himself, he asked curiously, "Why?"

The younger teen seemed to give him an amused and yet sad smile, "It was the only way I could stay by someone's side."

"Your father's?"

"No." He shook his head, "Someone else."

"Okay," The son of Apollo said, "Girlfriend?" He gave a wild guess, "Didn't see you as the romantic type."

The son of Hades shook his head, "I'm not." The gate lit up and the two of them looked into it to see a beautifully designed garden that resembled Olympus, waiting for Will. The dark-haired teen whispered, "It's time for you to go."

"Oh, yeah, right." He said stepping forward, but then he hesitated and turned back. "Can't you, uh, at least tell me your name?"

The teen shook his head and Will huffed.

"Aw, come on, this may be the last time we see each other." Nothing, not even a flinch. "I can't just keep calling you emo kid in my mind…" He said and still nothing. He decided to go for a random statement he always said just to get other people to do what he said, "What if I said 'doctor's orders'?"

He knew he didn't imagine the way dark eyes flashed at his words and for a moment he stood there, just staring at the other teen, wondering why he felt such a pull towards him.

Eventually, the younger of the two cleared his throat and pulled something from his finger. "Here." He handed a silver skull ring to a surprised Will. "Names are powerful things, I can't tell you mine for various reasons, so I hope you accept this token as an apology…" Then he added almost jokingly, "And also as a bribe to stop annoying me."

Will would have laughed at that if he hadn't been staring at the object in his palm. He closed his hand around the cold object. For some reason the fact that this stranger was giving him this, seemed serious. He couldn't laugh at it.

Dark eyes softened as the son of Hades companion pushed him towards the gates. "Don't forget to try for rebirth."

"Three times, isle of Blest." Will nodded, remembering. "Thanks, uh for everything. And- and for this." He held up the ring awkwardly.

"You're welcome." The younger teen nodded as Will stepped into the arch, feeling the warmth of heaven pulling him in just as the person behind him spoke in a soft, broken-hearted tone.

"Goodbye, Will."

Will spun so fast, he almost broke his neck. But he had already gone passed the gate and he could see it closing over the vulnerable form of a certain son of Hades.

"Di- di Angelo…" He muttered, blue eyes wide as memories of the son of Hades overcame him.

_You dressed in black, with the sun coming up. You painted your face but didn't cover that mop of blond hair. You might as well be waving a yellow flag._

_I'm fine._

_Tastes like tar and dirt._

_Do_ not _call me_ Death boy _!_

_Three days? I-I suppose that would be okay._

_I'll be right back, promise on the Styx and everything!_

_Solace means comfort. Sol is Italian for sun._

_WILL!_

_You don't need to know who I am or who you are. You don't need to ask why, you don't even have to remember, it's okay._

_I'll stay with you._

Will ran forward, fully determined to throw himself across dimensions if it meant he'd get to stay with the dark-haired teen who'd stayed with him for so long, who'd given up his mortality just to stay with a person who didn't even remember him, even if it meant forever,  _especially_  if it meant forever. "Nico!" He yelled as the portal closed and he was only able to see the son of Hades turning his back on hm.

"NICO!" He reached out a hand towards the arch as he pushed forward- faster,  _faster!_

But it was too late. The portal had closed and even when Will jumped through the arch, he was still in Elysium. He stumbled to the ground because of the force of his jump.

_You just have to know that I'll be here, that I'll_ always _be here._

The son of Apollo punched the ground as he let out a heartrending scream that could have shook the heavens.

"LIAR!" He yelled in frustration, "Di Angelo you LIAR!" He could feel the cold metal of Nico's ring digging into his palm. He lied there shaking in anger, disbelief, and in grief. That idiot,  _how dare he…?_

_You have blonde hair, as bright as the sun. Your eyes are as clear as the cloudless sky, did you know?_

It was a while before Will finally stood up and started walked away from the arch, coming to a decision. HIs hands were shaking, shoulders set in determination.

If Nico was going to live forever, still determined to push everyone away, he wouldn't let him.

_Think… rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of Blest._

"Just wait for me, di Angelo." Will's blue eyes flashed, hand tightening around the ring. "I'll get back to your side, just you wait. And when I do, you better have a good reason for leaving me by myself." He stopped and looked at the sky, "Just you wait, Death Boy…"

_This time, I'll stay with you._

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He didn't look at anyone twice, (unless they had dark hair, sad eyes, and olive skin). And he didn't know why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a completely different writing style from the first chapter, I hope it's okay :T

_“When you don't know what you're searching for, you have to look absolutely everywhere.”_  
― [Holly Black](http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/25422.Holly_Black), _[The Poison Eaters and Other Stories](http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/6611823) _

Walter, Jasper, Winston, Damian…

He was an upbeat, ball of sunshine that exuded warmth and smiles wherever he went. He had low accuracy though, and tended to avoid archery and any type of self-defense sports out there, lest he injured the spectators more than his opponents.

Next, he became a tone deaf orphan who clattered around the streets singing about lost love, people who like pushing themselves away and, strangely enough, emo guys. Whenever he finished a rendition of 'Dark Eyes, Dark Heart' he'd never fail to comment on how stupid the person in the song was (to anyone who would listen) for thinking that no one wanted him. To the orphan the person in the song was always the one who pushed himself away.

In his next life he was a tanned surfer with dark hair and thoughtful blue eyes. He wasn't the flirtatious type but every person he went out with all had similar features: dark hair, dark eyes, and olive skin. It was a lucky bonus if they had a brooding personality with it but he never lasted long with any one of them.

Lastly, he was an accomplished doctor, internationally recognized for being the best surgeon in the entire United States. His looks weren't all that bad either. With a mop of shaggy blonde hair and warm, chocolate brown eyes, in that life he was the bachelor that most nurses (female and male) sighed about. He'd been hit on so many times that people actually lost count. But the young, successful doctor never looked at anyone twice.

(Unless you were dark haired, dark eyes, and olive skin)

In every life he went through, he didn't remember anything about  _before_  who he currently was. He went on with life as an orphan, a mortal, a successful person, not knowing he was someone else before he was Walter, before he was Jasper, Winston, or Damian.

He didn't know any Will Solace. He didn't know that he was  _that Will Solace_ , once a healer, a half-blood, son of the Greek god Apollo, a hero that fought in two wars that nearly destroyed the earth both times. He didn't know that he once loved a son of Hades, the prince of Darkness, his counterpart, someone who became immortal just to stay with him in the Underworld until he could move on to Elysium.

But he at least knew that he was waiting for something (someone) important. He knew that in his life there was something missing, that he was searching for something (someone). In every life, it felt like there was always a missing puzzle, a missing piece of him.

He didn't know what it was (or who it was).

But he was always waiting, always searching, always hoping.

This time, this life, maybe things would be different.

Maybe he'd finally find what it was (who it was) that was missing in his life.

_This time…_

_I'll stay with you._

* * *

His name was William James Sol, a cheerful seventeen-year-old from Philadelphia. Shaggy blonde hair, pale blue eyes, lightly tanned skin. He liked wearing surfer's shirts, cut-off shorts, and flip-flops. He was slightly tone deaf, average with poetry, had slight accuracy problems, but he loved helping people and messing around with the first-aid kits.

Will had always known that his dad was Apollo, one of the Greek gods in his history books, but it was the first time that he had been taken to the famous Camp Half-Blood. Monsters had shown up around him frequently (as it did whenever there was a demigod kid around) but he had always been able to cope. He was always getting kicked out of his school before he found a demigod-friendly school. It was because of this school (founded by the Dare company way back in the famous Rachel Dare's time) that he hadn't needed to go to camp. But now his mom's work was transferred to Long Island, New York just as he was about to enter his senior year.

Truthfully, he didn't mind being uprooted from his past life. The people in his old school, Anaklusmos Academy (named after someone's sword apparently) were good and he had friends there and liked his half-siblings enough, but he wanted to explore other demigod inhabited places like the famous Camp Half-Blood.

"I'm really sorry about suddenly dragging you to Long Island with me." His mom apologized for the millionth time. He gave his mom a reassuring smile.

"Seriously mom, it's fine. I'm actually pretty excited about this. I've heard a lot about camp in the Academy." Will said as he looked outside, eyes distant. "They said that the legendary Percy Jackson went there, along with four others of the Seven from the Great Prophecy."

"Oh, those seven were the strongest demigods that helped defeat Mother Earth, right?" The woman asked before subtly shaking her head, "You know I'm still having trouble believing half of your Greek Mythology subjects in that school."

"Hey, I think they're pretty believable." He laughed lightly, "I mean, no one can describe Tartarus  _that well_  unless they've been there themselves." He shuddered as he remembered their professor's serious discussions on Tartarus based on the remains of Annabeth Chase's journal.

"Okay, okay." She said to her son as they turned right and drove up to Half-Blood hill. "So, I'm dropping you off here, apparently mortals can't cross the borders." She rolled her eyes at that. "Be nice to your half-siblings, don't stay out too long under the sun or you'll get sun burned or heat stroke or-"

It was Will's turn to roll his eyes this time as he got out, "I get it mom." He said as he went back to open the trunk and get his duffel. He closed the back and straightened, seeing his mother get out as well so she could walk him to the border.

As they walked, his mother continued to talk (asking him if he had everything) before they stopped right at the field that kept mortals out. "Just be good, okay? And if you don't like it here you can always call and I'll pick you right up-"

"I'll be fine." Will assured her with fond exasperation, "And besides, you know demigods can't use phones."

His mom gave him a disapproving look, "Don't be cheeky, I got you that new Dare Enterprise phone just so you won't be tracked by monsters or whatever it is." She said and poked him on the chest, "Call me, William James or so help me, mortal barrier or not I will come here myself to check on you."

The son of Apollo laughed as he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, "Yes, ma'am."

The woman sighed when she leaned back to look at him, raising a hand to cup his cheek in fondness, "You are so much like your father, Will." She said, running a thumb across his cheek, "My cheerful, sunny boy. Never change."

An unspeakable warmth rose in the demigod's heart as he nodded and just gave his mom a warm smile. Too soon, his mom had to take a step back and watch as he went through the border and into his new life in camp.

He fingered the ring dangling in a black chord around his neck as he stepped on with determination.

* * *

Will was pretty nervous in meeting the legendary Chiron, trainer of heroes. He'd followed the current Apollo counselor, who was around his age and was named Michael-something, to the Big House. He sat on one of the comfy looking chairs, turning his head to look around as he tried not to let his jittery feelings make a fool of him. Michael was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, an earphone in his one ear. Will could hear his music from where he sat.

"Yes, of course." He could hear Chiron on the other room, "You take care of yourself as well, do not push yourself too much and drop in again, I'm sure the Apollo Cabin will miss you in your absence."

There was no answer, probably the person he was talking to just nodded. Their conversation seemed to be done, seeing as Chiron came out of the other room to face them, but no one came out after him. The person he was talking to might have the power to transport himself to another place. Will heard some people could do that. He envied them sometimes.

"Ah, Michael." The centaur said nodding at the son of Apollo who straightened. He turned his head to Will, "Then you must be the trans-"

The centaur froze, eyes wide as he looked at Will and the blonde wondered if he had something on his face, a smudge or pen scribbles (yeah, his mom did that to him sometimes) but Michael wasn't laughing and he looked as confused as Will felt.

"Uhm…?" Will said, trying to diffuse the current tension in the room. Thankfully, Chiron snapped out of whatever surprised trance he was in.

The hero trained cleared his throat, "Right, sorry about that, I was just a little sur- I mean, I'm just tired. It's nice to meet you, Mr…?"

Will blinked at the hand in front of him for a second before taking it and shaking, "William James Sol- uh, actually just call me Will. Everyone calls me Will." He said with a smile but Chiron seemed surprised by his answer.

"Will, your name is Will?"

"Yeah," He shrugged, "I mean it's what it says in my birth certificate, so…"

"Oh, yes of course. That's great." And then Chiron said in an even warmer and more sincere tone as he pulled back, "I'm glad that you're here, Will."

Will blinked but gave the centaur a mysterious smile. Will just found himself nodding. "I'm excited to be here." He said with equal honesty.

* * *

"So this is our cabin. We wake up at the crack of dawn and then go to archery lessons, sword fights, poetry bantering, you get the idea." Michael said as he opened the door, "Hey guys, the transferee from the Academy is here! Meet our brother, Will!"

Several teens and a few children varying from the ages of eight to eighteen waved a hand at him and Will gave his siblings a bright smile, pleased to meet them. He deposited his duffel on one of the free beds Michael pointed at him. He looked in interest at the various medical and literature books they had scattered around in the cabin. There was even a spiral step ladder that led to a small attic and a loose set of floorboards that led to the basement filled with books, herbs and gods-know-what-else. The inside of the cabin smelled like sawdust and antiseptic.

For some reason it smelled familiar.

It smelled like home.

Will shook his head out of his daze and turned to Michael who had been talking without his notice.

"-also take turns at the shifts in the Infirmary. When do you want to get started?" The head of the Apollo Cabin asked. Thankfully, Will heard enough words in that sentence to get what he was asking.

"I don't mind starting tomorrow." He shrugged, "I'm really interested in seeing the medicines the camp got from our sister camp, Camp Jupiter."

"The heart of a healer and willing to get to work in a snap." One of his sisters said as she passed by them, "I like him."

"Well, healing is all I'm ever good at." Will scratched at the back of his neck self-consciously. "I mean, I'm not bad with poetry and haikus but I'm not a good singer or archer. I also don't do fighting." He shrugged, "I'm just a healer."

One of the boys who had been listening, furrowed his brow. "I don't understand why you sound resigned. It doesn't matter if you can't shoot a bow or not. We need more healers than fighters in the Camp anyway, besides one of the camp counselors in this Cabin was a healer-not-a-fighter type too."

"Yeah," Another boy joined in, "Now that I think about it, his name was Will just like you."

Michael nodded, "Will Solace, he was made Apollo counselor in the middle of the war with Kronos." Someone clearly listened to their Greek Mythology, Will thought. "He survived the war with Gaea and was the hero that saved the camp when it was overrun by the last of Gaea's desperate followers."

At the last part of the sentence, Will raised a hand automatically grasping the ring he had around his neck. One of his siblings noticed his action and tilted his head when he saw the silver skull ring glinting.

"Nice ring." He commented, "Never saw you as the type to wear stuff like that though." He gestured to the way he was dressed, bright and easy. In contrast was the ominous-looking silver skull ring around his neck.

"Oh, uh yeah, I'm not really into skulls." Will said looking at his necklace, "But this ring is really important to me and I guess, sometimes we have to make exceptions for stuff."

"Then be sure to keep an eye on it especially around the Hermes and Hecate kids." One of his half-sisters warned. "We all  _know_  that the Hermes cabin would take it the first chance they get and the Hecate cabin are obsessed with objects that are important to people. Something about the power of feelings make for a great spell or something."

The blonde paled at the thought of the necklace going missing and he nodded hastily. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out."

"You better," His sister said as she straightened, "Now, I'll take over from Mike here. My name's Kylie, nice to meet you. Let's take the tour outside."

* * *

"There're a lot of cabins here." Will said when they passed cabin 11.

Kylie nodded, "I'm sure you know that it's because of Percy Jackson and Jason Grace. Percy refused immortality and told the gods to recognize their children and the minor gods and goddesses instead." She said, "Jason became _pontifex maximus_ , going between camps to build shrines for them."

Two boys close to his age being able to do so much in such a short time, more than any of them could ever do in a lifetime. They were impressive heroes. They paused by cabin 12, "Being able to turn down immortality like that, it's impressive in Jackson's part." Will admitted.

At those words Kylie said in a sly tone, "A lot of us girls like to think that it's because of a certain daughter of Athena."

Will nodded in understanding. Everyone in his school also thought that Annabeth Chase had been the number one reason Percy refused immortality. The whole concept of immortality made him frown for some reason.

"So," Kylie nudged him on the ribs as they began walking towards the next cabin, "You have any pretty girl you'd turn down immortality for?"

The son of Apollo automatically held the ring around his neck and Kylie raised an eyebrow at his reaction. "I- uh…" He looked around trying to come up with an answer but then the dark Cabin looking up ahead caught his eye. He paused, gaping.

The cabin had solid obsidian walls with a skull over the door and torches that burned with green fire twenty-four hours a day. Will stepped forward and placed a hand on its walls, eyes distant. His sister looked at him strangely. He didn't mind her.

"This cabin…"

"Is Cabin thirteen." She nodded. "It's for the children of-"

"Hades." Will said looking up, "Children of Hades, child of Hades." He added in an almost whisper, "Son of Hades."

Kylie was starting to look worried now, "Will, are you alright?"

That snapped the son of Apollo out his thoughts as he retracted his hand, immediately going to the ring around his neck. "Y-Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't-" He breathed in deeply. "Sorry, it was just… back in the academy they would always mention a son of Hades in the First war and in the Second war. He convinced Hades, of all people, to fight for his family in the war, he travelled through Tartarus alone and was stuck in the bronze jar for weeks- but none of the professors would ever say his name because apparently, he didn't want to be part of the History. Something about not belonging or something stupid." He was starting to feel angry now. Whenever he heard that reasoning he wanted to go back in time and punch that son of Hades, it didn't matter whoever he was.

"Oh." Kylie nodded in understanding, "You're curious about him, we get people like that now and again. It's fine."

The blond nodded and with great reluctance he turned his back on his cabin and went back to his sister's side so she could continue the tour.

The nagging feeling at the back of his mind didn't disappear for weeks.

* * *

Will had been in camp Half-Blood for several months but to him it felt like years. He'd adjusted well to his new life, even quicker than back at his old school. He took to the infirmary duties like a duck to water and even went on several quests, serving as a healer rather than a fighter. Everything was going really well, although sometimes he'd wander through camp and stop outside Hades' cabin and just stare at it like it would tell him why he felt so drawn there.

On a night before his next quest that had something to do with retrieving one of the goddess Hecate's artifacts with a daughter of hers going by the name of Ellen and a girl from the Hermes cabin named Cecil, Apollo appeared in his dream.

 _"Dad."_ Will greeted. It wasn't the first time that the sun god appeared in his dreams. In fact he frequently appeared in all of his children's dreams just to talk or to share his new haiku. Sometimes it annoyed them, but mostly they were fine with it since they got to spend more time with him more than any other demigods had with their parents.

Apollo stood before him with a bright grin but he wasn't in his usual adult form wearing his trusty raybans. He looked about seventeen, with curly blond hair and a perfect tan (the color of his hair and his tan at least never changed no matter what form, it helped identify him). He wore tattered jeans, a black T-shirt, and a white linen jacket with glittering rhinestone lapels, like he was trying for an Elvis/Ramones/Beach Boys hybrid look. In his hand was the legendary Valdezinator given by one of the Seven, Leo Valdez.

It was strange to note how much they looked alike when the god of music was like this. And he didn't look like a dad but rather someone who seemed like his age, a peer or a twin brother.

 _"William! My you've grown!"_ Apollo stepped forward ruffling his hair, _"How's my boy? Your mom? She still the feisty woman I met back in Philly?"_

 _"Uhm,"_ It was so weird thinking of his mom and dad, especially when he looked like this. _"She's fine. How about you, dad? Are you doing okay up there?"_

 _"Better than ever, though Artemis is being her usual bossy self but eh, I guess that's what siblings are supposed to do, be dad's favorite little girl."_ He rolled his eyes but then he changed his tone to a gentle one,  _"I heard you're off to another quest tomorrow?"_

Will didn't think his dad had heard about that, a lot of Apollo's children were often sent out for quests especially since they were healers. Every team needed a healer,  _"Yeah, we're retrieving one of Hecate's artifacts. I was assigned to go with Ellen and Cecil."_

 _"Oh, I remember little Lou Ellen with her pig balls that turned Romans to pigs. I liked her."_ Apollo nodded and Will's eyebrows furrowed.

_"Her name's just Ellen and I don't remember her making any pig balls."_

_"Oh sorry, got her confused with some other of Hecate's daughters."_ The sun god said,  _"Anyway, Will, I came to give you a little advice."_ The son of Apollo looked at his father curiously but nodded. The gods' advices were always to be taken seriously. He readied himself to solve some rhyme about their quest tomorrow but to his surprise Apollo just said,  _"Don't go to that quest tomorrow."_

 _"What? Why?"_ Will asked,  _"Would it kill me or something? Should I tell Chiron to cancel it-?"_

Apollo laughed,  _"No, no… No one will die in that quest I assure you. I just thought that it would be better if you stayed in camp tomorrow."_ He said mysteriously,  _"Someone's dropping in for one of his very rare visits and I'm sure you'd like to meet him."_

Will gave him a raised eyebrow look of confusion,  _"Okay…"_

Apollo ruffled his hair again but it was gentler and his eyes were fond,  _"He may not be the most cheerful guy I've met but he did everything he could to stay with you and that's enough to put him in my good-guy list."_

 _"Huh?"_  Will asked, not getting what his father was saying.  _"What? Who did? What do you mean?"_

The god of music and poetry retracted his hand again and shrugged,  _"Who knows what I mean. I'm the god of poetry and music, I'm_ deep  _and_ mysterious _."_ He said as he manipulated the levers and gears in the Valdezinator. A sad tone rang from it, a tone of longing, waiting, hoping, and searching. It struck a chord inside of Will's heart.

Instead of asking further what his dad meant, Will swallowed back something thick on his throat and said instead,  _"That sounds nice."_ He referred to the tune.

Apollo hummed,  _"Indeed it does. It took me awhile to master this instrument. I realized that it plays best when you strum songs about love. Leo Valdez made this with hopes of seeing the goddess Calypso again. With it he cleverly manipulated me in telling him Asclepius' directions."_

Will heard about that story. He knew that Leo eventually found Calypso and even found his way back to his friends.  _"He found her again in the end, right?"_

 _"He did."_ Apollo nodded and he strung several more tunes, each impossibly sadder than before.  _"But this music isn't Calypso's wistful melody of homesickness and longing, it has a much sadder story than that."_

_"What's it about, then?"_

Apollo gave him a somewhat sad and wistful smile,  _"This, my son, is a story about a hero trapped in darkness and solitude, trapped in a place where he knew nothing, not even himself. It's a story about a light shining in a dark place where no one ever got out and nothing ever changed…"_  A few more low notes and for some reason, Will knew what came next in the story.  _"Until a boy with dark hair and sad eyes came… and stayed with him for all eternity."_

The god Apollo played the song all the way and through the strings of the brass cone, Will felt cold and warm all at that same time, he looked at his hands and he could feel his eyes sting. When his father finished he asked in a small voice,  _"What's it called?"_

A warm hand laid itself on his shoulder. He looked up to his father's eyes shining with understanding.  _"I'll Stay With You."_ Was all he said before the dream blurred along the edges before dissolving.

Will found himself sitting up, staring at his lap with burning eyes as he held onto the cold ring around his neck.

_This time, I'll stay with you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I really didn't like how this turned out T_T It now extended to chapter 3
> 
> O_O I wasn't expecting there to be a third chapter at all. I assure you though that the next chapter is the last, ahaha. Uhm was it good? I made a version one and a version two of this story =_= And yep, my headcanon that Percy and everyone else would be known as great heroes in the demigod's history showed itself here XD
> 
> I couldn't help inserting the Valdezinator too and Lou Ellen, Cecil, Michael Yew, and Kayla's reincarnates. Q_Q
> 
> The only thing I liked about this was the Apollo scene Q_Q


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tidbit: Whoever married Reyna, took her last name instead of the other way around.  
> Thank you to: _perseusjacksoff_ for being there when I was looking for someone to read this over XD _I AM Shibuya's Composer_ for the Spanish Translation of the Arellano's blessing!

“And what would humans be without love?"  
RARE, said Death.”   
― [Terry Pratchett](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1654.Terry_Pratchett),  _[Sourcery](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/62360)_

Nico had seen the dwellers of Asphodel more times than he could count. The wandering, confused spirits were an unavoidable sight whenever he went to visit Bianca before she went to Elysium. He'd also seen them when he pulled Hazel into the living world, the times he visited Bob and kept him company, and during the various odd jobs he did for his dad as the son of Hades.

When he first saw Will there, Nico could hardly recognize him. The spirits in the Fields of Asphodel were nearly faceless, losing their physical aspects as they lost their identities in endless questions and wanderings.

So when dark eyes finally settled on one soul, shining brighter than the rest, silent but walking in a confused daze like all the others, the son of Hades knew he looked for too long. It took everything in him not to go to Will, not to drag him out of the Fields and back to the living like he did with Hazel before.

But Thanatos was keeping a close eye on him under Hades' orders. He had to play it calmly, the angel of Death did not care if he interacted with the spirits as long as he did not drag anyone back to the land of the living.

So he straightened his posture, hands fisted on his side as he detached himself from his heart. He walked with purpose towards that one soul. The spirits parted for him as they always did. Even in the confused state of mind their souls can recognize the power he held over them. They parted more out of fear than respect.

A lone spirit stood in front of him with a blank face. He could barely make out the shaggy blond hair and pale blue eyes against the mist-like form.

Nico's mask cracked.

He reached out and placed a hand against the other's face. "I'm sorry I took awhile." Even with the barrier of leather on his skin, there was still the undercurrent of electricity he only ever felt with Will, thrumming in his veins. Nico closed his eyes and saw the blond smiling at him beneath his closed lids.

"But I'm here now."

* * *

"Are you sure?" Out of the twelve Olympians, Aphrodite was the last person Nico expected to ask him that. The other gods and goddesses were somber and he wondered if they could all read minds and feel the sheer anguish in his soul.

He was nearly seventeen now, a year since that stupid son of Apollo, Will Solace, died and argued with the judges of the Underworld themselves to place his traitor brother in the Fields of Asphodel rather than in the Fields of Punishment.

Somewhere along the line of fighting the Underworld Justice System and looking for him, Nico realized it would take more than one mortal life time to give Will Solace the Elysium he deserved. That,  _and_  if Nico did fail in his attempts of dragging the blond to paradise, then he could, at the very least, stay with the son of Apollo in the Fields of Asphodel for eternity.

Because he didn't want his own death to separate them.

Nico looked down his gloved hands. He'd started wearing the leather gloves ever since Will died. He couldn't stop seeing the blood on them when the son of Apollo died in his arms. He closed his eyes and even though Hades should be proud that his son was to be bestowed the greatest gift of all to any mortal hero, all Nico could feel from his father was sadness.

He looked backed up to the gods, meeting Aphrodite's sad and knowing gaze.

"I'm sure." He said.

* * *

Hazel found Nico on Persephone's garden, looking up at the unworldly flowers Hades' grew for his stepmother. His eyes were distant, older than they had the right to be in a seventeen-year-old boy's body. She sat beside him on the grass, placing a warm hand on his gloved ones. Nico flinched but she didn't take her hand back.

"I heard what you did."

She looked older than him now, her hair the color of brown earth and gold dust curling against her face endearingly. The sides of her eyes were wrinkled from her constant, warm smiles. It's been awhile since he'd last saw her. Being an escaped prisoner of Thanatos, she never dared visit the Underworld- that is, until today.

"Is that why you've stopped visiting?" Hazel asked and Nico's dark eyes narrowed.

"Did something happen?"

Gold eyes stared at him before Hazel gave a soft smile, "You have no idea how long it's been, have you?"

Something thick was stuck in Nico's throat, he had a bad feeling he knew why Hazel was here after all those years of avoiding the Underworld just so she wouldn't be dragged back. "It's been years up there. I'm the last one to go. Jason and the rest have never stopped asking about you so I promised myself that when it's my time to go, I'd look for you here." She leaned against the dark teen. His little sister was taller than him now, and in the dim lighting, she glowed like a ghost. Maybe she was a ghost now, an imprint of the sister he'd given a second life too. Nico's old heart grew cold. "You found him, didn't you? That boy with the smile like the sun? The child of Apollo."

Nico's eyes burned and he curled into himself. He hugged his knees to his chest, arms supporting his head, "Yeah."

There was silence between the two siblings before Hazel broke it with her soft voice. "You gave up everything for him."

Nico was silent for awhile before he looked up, eyes unseeing as he spoke in equal whisper.

"He would have done the same for me."

* * *

The feeling Nico had when the three golden-masked judges of the Underworld gave Will Elysium, could not be described by mere words. The happiness and the sorrow he felt that Will was finally getting the rest in the paradise he deserved clashed within him and it took everything he had not to think about  _after_.

What would become of him  _after_?

The way Will Solace looked when he had been dragged away from the Fields of Asphodel nearly made Nico speechless with shock. Even in the darkest part of the Underworld, his blond hair shone like a beacon of light, pale blue eyes twinkling with the memories he regained the farther he got away from the fields. His hands no longer looked ghostlike under the poor lighting, more solid and more human than he'd seen him in years.

It made something in Nico ache as he looked away while the three judges of the Underworld passed their sentence.

The walk towards the gates of Elysium was harder than Nico thought. It took every ounce of will in him to walk those steps as Will claimed to know him. The son of Hades was thankful for the delay in his memories. He knew that if Solace realized who Nico was, then he wouldn't be able to convince the other to go through the gates of Elysium. All his hard work in the past years would have been for nothing.

At least this way, Will would be happier on the other side.

"We're here."

"Huh, Elysium." The slight longing in Will's voice eased something in Nico. It made his resolve harden because he knew he was doing the right thing. "So, am I gonna be seeing you here after you, you know,  _pass on_  too?"

Nico could almost swear his heart stopped at the question and he was filled with elation and with dread.  _Does he remember? Does he know?_ But he tried to keep his cool and explained to Will that he was immortal, that he could never pass through here.

 _I became immortal,_ Nico thought,  _so that_ if _I could not have granted you passage to Paradise, then, at very least, I could stay with you for eternity in the Fields of Asphodel._

But he did not say that out loud and instead gave Will a piece of himself the son of Apollo could always have even if he didn't remember him. He gave him his skull ring instead of a name and watched as the person he gave up everything for, took a step into the gate.

Nico's heart hammered against his ribs and his hands were clenched in fists at his side. He looked down, unable to bear seeing another person he loved being taken into Elysium and leaving him behind.

With that thought, his self-control broke a little and he couldn't help but say in a heartbroken voice…

"Goodbye, Will."

He realized, the moment it came out of his mouth, that saying those words were a mistake. He covered his mouth, looking down wide-eyed before he turned around to leave.

But a voice froze him in his tracks.

"Nico!" Louder still. "NICO!"

And because he was an idiot too, because he loved hurting himself, Nico stopped in his tracks, back turned and hoping and waiting that Will was able to go through the gates of Elysium before it closed. He closed his eyes and he imagined Will catching up to him, Will punching him and shouting at him and hugging him, he imagined Will saying,  _"It'll take more than that to get rid of me, Death Boy."_

For the first time in a long,  _long_  time, he imagined  _forever_.

Forever with Will.

So Nico stayed frozen on that spot, his back to the gates of Elysium.

And he waited.

He waited and he got nervous and he almost turned around before he realized that the  _reason_  why no one had grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around yet, was most probably because the gates to Paradise had long  _closed_ behind him, that maybe Will had remembered him _but hadn't been able to go through in time._

Nico closed his eyes.

He waited for a long time, he waited a little more… before finally, he found strength in himself to walk forward, shoulders slumped in something akin to defeat and misery.

He walked forward and kept walking.

He walked for a while, by himself, in the darkness of his own execution and never turned back.

* * *

_Years later…_

Nico took off his black toga (bed sheets, Percy would have fondly called them), running a hand through his dark hair as Roman demigods nodded at him in respect. He folded it over his arms as he passed by the Pomerian Line. He walked past a dark-haired teen boy surrounded by other Romans, possibly discussing about the latest meeting. When the teen caught a glimpse of the son of Hades, he excused himself and ran up to him.

"Hey, old man!" Romario, Reyna Arellano-Ramirez's great-great-great (you get it) grandson waved at him. Sometimes it amazed Nico how he resembled Reyna so much when he took control of the Senate like a trueborn leader but outside of the formalities and the bed sheet wear, he was a simple teen that laughed and took things into stride. He grew up well. He grew up happy. Their descendants enjoying the peace the Seven and the demigods in the past fought and died for was what exactly every one of them wanted.

He was glad to see that all that pain and suffering was worth it in the end.

"Rommy." Nico said in a way of revenge and true enough the young Ramirez's nose crinkled at the nickname.

However, instead of getting annoyed or huffing, the young praetor took it into stride and Nico almost felt sad at how fast he was growing up, just like the rest of the mortal world around him.

"So, you heading back to Camp Half-Blood?" The dark-haired teen asked with curiosity, "Can't you stay here a little longer and maybe have a wine-drinking contest with Dalton (Dakota's great-great-great-so-on grandson)?"

Nico frowned, "I don't like kool-aid."

"You're the only one that can stomach it in large amounts." And the young praetor widened his eyes in a puppy dog look that made the son of Hades snort. His great grandmother, Rika, probably taught him that.

"Still no." Nico said but in a softer, apologetic tone. "Besides I've been here for months, dealing with Roman business, I think it's time for me to go home."

At the word 'home' Romario relented a bit but he still said, " _Correction_ , you've been coming here  _in and out_  for several months, it's not our fault that you hadn't visited Camp Half-Blood during that time. You had breaks."

"I had to do some things for my father as well. In between here and there, I couldn't find time to sneak back home." It was still strange to Nico how he'd taken to calling Half-Blood Hill his home. The word rolled down his tongue without his consent, sounding right without meaning to.

Reyna's (great, great) grandchild huffed at this, "Fine, okay you've been busy. You're officially excused from the party and as praetor, I tell you we won't take offense."

The son of Hades couldn't help but smile at the way Romario was childish yet mature at the same time. He inclined his head, "Thank you, praetor." He said in a teasing tone.

Just as he was to leave however, Rommy grabbed him by the arm and wagged his finger on the other's face. "Nuh-uh! Hasn't  _any_ of us Ramirez taught you any lesson?" He said as he held out his arms, "Come here for some man hugging."

Nico blinked but before he could say anything, the young teen had his arms around the son of Hades, squeezing him into the warmth.

" _Sé bueno y feliz, hijo de la oscuridad. Ve a estar con él y quédate, hijo de la luz."_  Romario whispered in his shoulder. Those old blessings had been passed down to each of Reyna's descendants along with the goodbye hugs. It was like Reyna's last will was to always make him feel welcome among her family.

An ache in his chest had Nico reaching out and fisting his hands on the back of Rommy's shirt.

Like before (a long, long time ago), when Reyna had gently pulled him into the firelight on the night of Gaea's defeat, Nico found himself burying his face on the praetor's shoulder and fighting off the tears in his eyes.

* * *

"I thought you'd be at camp, by now." A smooth voice made Nico look up from his perch on the tree. He was somewhere in the suburbs in Erie, New York, watching two little girls playing out on their yard. Hades stood beside him, dressed in a suit and looking strange as he stood beside Nico who was sitting on a thick branch.

"Father," The immortal greeted, "I just thought to drop by here and do a little sightseeing before going to see Chiron and the rest." Even when he said it in a blank tone, the excuse felt feeble in his ears. His father gave him a look that said he was not fooled. He turned to look at the two girls playing.

"Bianca and Hazel, what a coincidence that those two little girls' names are similar to those of your sisters." The god of the Underworld chose to comment. "But in this world, nothing is ever a coincidence. The three fates chose their rebirthed place well." He sighed, "How long did it take you to find them?"

Nico shrugged, "I came by them by accident. I accidentally landed here instead of Long Island and they were playing by the lake. Bianca fell into the water and I..." He let out a breath, "I saved her." He muttered, "I wasn't even looking for them."

Hades nodded in understanding and the two of them remained side-by-side in silence.

"Did you know that they were supposed to have a little brother?" Nico suddenly said, "But he died shortly after he was born. Premature birth. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe… that could've been me, if I hadn't become immortal all those years ago."

The god of the dead hummed thoughtfully, dark eyes trained at his son, "Do you regret it?"

"I should." The son of Hades said, "A normal person would but…" He met his father's eyes. "I don't regret staying with Will."

A rare smile overcame the god of Death's expression before it went back to his indifferent face. He placed his hand in his pant's pocket and withdrew a vial filled with a dark violet liquid. "Then, my son I give this to you in good faith."

Nico accepted the vial, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What is it?"

"This is your choice." Hades said carefully, "This time, you decide your own fate."

* * *

"It's poison." Nico said, placing the vial in the middle of Chiron's reading table. The teacher of heroes gave the son of Hades a wide-eyed look.

"Your father, lord Hades, god of the Underworld gave you poison as a gift." The centaur said in a leveled tone. "I fear I am missing something vital here…"

"I'm immortal, a minor god of death and darkness." The teen explained as he sat back in his armchair, observing the poison with interest. Chiron gave him a wary and worried look, "Immune to sickness and death, yet my father has given me a poison that could even kill an immortal."

"Surely, he is not asking you to-"

"It's a gift," He interrupted, "In a way that I get to find a way out of my eternal life. It took hundreds of years to finish this much. He gave it to me  _for me_. It is my choice."

"A choice you do not have to make, look Nico-"

"Chiron," The son of Hades said before the trainer of heroes could talk further. "I am tired."

A crestfallen look befell the centaur's expression, "I know more than anyone else how immortality makes one grow weary but Nico, you have friends here, the Apollo cabin, the praetors of Camp Jupiter, your sister's, Hazel's descendants-"

"And they will all eventually die and where would that leave me?" Nico was unable to help the bitterness of his tone. "Alone again, trapped  _here_  again. Before, I didn't belong, I felt out of time but then, for a short time, with Will-" Even after all these years he choked at the name, "I felt like everything was going to be okay, that I'd be accepted. Hazel found herself a home in New Rome and I hoped I would too." His expression hardened. "But the Fates are cruel. Happiness for a son of Hades never lasts and I found myself more out of sync with the world than before, even more so now, hundreds of years into the future. But at least this time, my father has given me a way out, he has given me mercy."

"I do not believe that having you drink the poison and die is what lord Hades intended-"

"I've made my decision." Nico interrupted the centaur again, "I've made my peace with this and it's a lot to ask but please respect it."

There was silence.

"What do I tell the demigods you will be leaving behind?" Chiron asked quietly and the immortal teen let out a relieved breath.

"Tell them I'm happy. I'm finally going to the place where I wanted to be." And the trainer of heroes understood that that was his dismissal. Nico's brief visit to him was nothing more than a polite house call to tell him that he'd be leaving and never be coming back. He only told Chiron about the poison out of courtesy, so that he would understand why he was doing what he was doing. He had made his mind up from the very start, no one could sway him.

"Will you not say your goodbyes?"

"I'm not good with goodbyes." Nico shook his head, eyes distant. "Something always goes wrong."

"Won't you let anyone stay with you, at the very least?"

Nico gave him a sad look, making him look older, even older than the gods, "No one ever really stays in the end." He said.

* * *

Chiron knew he could have said something more, physically stopped the other from drinking that poison and ending his life. But Nico was powerful too, he could have just transported into the Underworld and drank it, but he preferred to drink it here, in his old home where his happiness started and ended, where his life as a demigod begun and would eventually be cut short.

The centaur could have mentioned about William Sol, a person who looked like Nico's Will Solace, Apollo's son who died trying to save the camp for the third time. But Nico may have not believed him or else would be hurt even more at the fact that there was someone in the camp that looked a lot like the first person who dared order Nico around before eventually taking his heart. Nico wouldn't be able to take the constant reminder of Will and would still drink the poison, either way. And Will was not here to convince Nico himself. It was a lost cause no matter what direction he took.

The centaur stood outside of the Big House, a look of anguish in his face, head bowed as he prayed silently to the gods for guidance and for mercy. He prayed to the three judges of the Underworld, whom knew would send Nico to Asphodel for dying the cowardly way, and asked them for mercy. He prayed guidance to Hades because he didn't understand what could have led him to this unwise decision.

"Uhm, is this a bad time?" A voice suddenly said and Chiron looked up, eyes wide. Cecil, daughter of Hermes looked up at him apologetically.

"Cecil!" He said, clopping towards the young demigod. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be on a quest?"

"Yeah, that's why I came here to talk to you." Cecil shrugged her shoulders, "Will cancelled on us at the last minute, so we've moved it to- hey! Chiron?" She called out to the centaur who galloped away. She ran after him. "Where're you going?"

"He  _is_  at his cabin, right?"

"Yeah but-!"

"Good, I need to go get him." Chiron said seriously, leaving Cecil gaping in his dust.

* * *

Nico looked at the poison on the wooden table, the light from the window illuminating the violet liquid in the glass. He looked at it for several seconds, chin resting delicately on his palm.

The idea of death did not scare him. Death and danger were old friends of his. And yet he didn't know why he is hesitating at this moment. Freedom was in his grasp and yet-

Nico closed his eyes, silence surrounding him. Beneath his closed lids he could see his friends in the few short years where they were all happy, living a peaceful at last. But then- Nico's hold on the armrest of his chair tightened.

" _Nico! Nico, where are you going?" Hazel ran after him, tears in her eyes. The son of Hades stopped, his shirt and hands were bloody, eyes red-rimmed._

" _Where else do you think? I'm going to talk with father, I'm going to-"_

" _You can't!" Hazel choked out, "You_ know _you can't bring him back! He's gone, he's not coming back, even if you're the son of Hades-"_

" _Then what's the_ point _!?" Nico yelled turning to her and walking towards her, eyes wide and dark with desperation. "What's the point of being-being_ this _!" He gestured to himself in disgust. "Of being who I am! Of being a son of a_ god _if I can't even bring back someone I- someone I lo-" He let out a choked cry and buried his face in his hands._

" _Nico…" Hazel said softly when her brother collapsed to the ground, shoulders shaking, "He'll go to Elysium but you know as well as I do that he'd wait for you first. You know he would. He'll be okay down there."_

" _It's not supposed to end this way." Nico said, voice breaking, eyes unseeing. "I'm supposed to- He's supposed to live. He's supposed to be_ here _, he doesn't belong down there."_

_Hazel gathered her older brother in her arms and shushed him, "I know, I know." She said, "Everything will be okay, we're still here, Nico."_

_The son of Hades closed his eyes, thoughts clawing at his mind._ You're still here, but for how long?

How long until Death claimed you too?

" _Nico!" Another memory, Reyna was running up to him. She looked older now, taller and more beautiful than when he last saw her. He didn't recall when the last time was. She grabbed him by the shoulders, eyes wide with surprise and maybe a little anger. "You've been gone for so long, we thought-!" She swallowed thickly, "It's been a year! What have you been_ doing  _all this time?"_

_Dark eyes looked up at her, Nico's face was more gaunt than usual, expression harder. "Didn't Hazel tell you?"_

_Reyna blinked and nodded, "Will Solace. But that still doesn't explain why you haven't-"_

" _He's in Asphodel."_

_The praetor blinked, a distressed look on her face. "Nico, I'm sorry-"_

" _The gods have offered me immortality once." He continued as though she didn't interrupt, "I've been thinking of accepting."_

_Reyna's eyes were wide as she stepped back, "What?"_

" _I haven't found Wi-" His breath hitched and the smallest emotion entered his expression before he smoothed it out. "I haven't found him yet. The year of wandering Asphodel has given me insight that this may take longer than I thought. Plus, there's still the process of convincing the three judges of the Underworld to grant him Elysium and having the position of a minor god might help." He said, eyes looking at the ground, "If it doesn't then… I'll be seeing you in the Underworld, when your time comes."_

_Silence._

" _Are you planning to stay with him when you find him?" Reyna's voice was hard, neutral and that was so much worse than yelling at him for not letting go._

" _I can't leave him alone."_

 _There were sounds of footsteps and he felt Reyna's warm hands tilt his face up, "You could have gone ahead and accepted immortality without telling us. You didn't tell us about going to Asphodel before and looking for him." She said, her eyes narrowed. "So, why are you telling me this_ now _?"_

" _I-"_

" _Answer me, Nico." Reyna took in a deep breath and her eyes took on a look of anguish. "Is this… goodbye?"_

_The dark-haired boy said nothing and the praetor's hands fell to his shoulders, gripping them tight._

" _Why didn't you tell your sister?"_

" _You're my sister too." The son of Hades muttered in a small voice, "In a way." Reyna blinked at him in surprise and he sighed, "Besides, Hazel would- she would stop me. She wouldn't understand, she has Frank, she fits in now, she has a home and-"_

" _You have a home too."_

_Nico gave her a tired smile, "Home isn't a place." He said, "My home… it's not here anymore."_

_Reyna's expression turned pained and she pulled him into a fierce hug which he returned just as fiercely. "Then, my little brother…" The praetor kissed the side of his head and whispered, "_ Sé bueno y feliz, hijo de la oscuridad. Ve a estar con él y quédate, hijo de la luz. _"_

" _Is that Spanish?" NIco asked, his voice muffled by her shoulder._

" _Yes, it's a blessing I came up with on the spot." Reyna said softly._

" _What does it mean?"_

 _Reyna closed her eyes, tightening her hold as she said softly to his ear, "_ Be well and happy, son of darkness. Be with him and stay, son of light. _"_

_The only response Nico had to that was to hold onto her tighter._

Nico's eyes opened, gaze wistful as he reached out and took the vial between his fingers. He looked at it for a moment, hesitation entirely fading at the thought of being able to be free, finally, after all those years.

 _And maybe,_ He thought to himself as he opened the cork,  _If I'm lucky, maybe I'd see my friends again. Maybe, I'd get to see… him._ He closed his eyes and drunk.

But just as he was about finish the vial, the door to the room opened and a strangled shout echoed, "NO!"

Before the son of Hades knew it, someone was knocking the vial from his hand. That same someone grabbed him by the shirt. His eyes snapped open and widened, black eyes meeting eyes the color of a cloudless blue sky.

Will Solace was looking down at him, face pale and blue eyes partly covered by sunny locks.

"Don't you dare leave me, Death Boy." He said with determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does Will remember Nico? Answer is in the next chapter ;D
> 
> So… that happened? Chapter four is already being written as we speak so give me two or three days. I'm sorry, I seriously did not expect it to go this way.
> 
> Also, yeah Cecil is a girl because when I first read about him in BOO I was like, wait, he's a guy? So I decided, hehe, why not make this Cecil a girl.
> 
> I'm updating **Forget-Me-Not Black** too. Man the solangelo fics are slow today. Maybe I'll make a one-shot on the spot or something. I've actually been moping around tumblr, wanting someone to look over chapter 3 before posted it, thankfully my sister came out of TV land and read it over for me. Her input wasn't much help aside from it being a cliffy and I'm like, "I KNOW! BUT IS IT A GOOD CLIFFY?" and she was like 'sure' and I guess that sums up my talent in writing.
> 
> 'Sure'.
> 
> But then a tumblr friend read it over for me too! Thanks!
> 
> So thanks and sorry it took awhile!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Warning** : I'm posting up warning for attempted suicide, I don't want to trigger anyone so if you're uncomfortable with their talk then feel free to skim.  
>  **Additional note** : The reason why Will sucks at trying to convince Nico to rethink what he was doing is because people who are in a situation like this (trying to stop someone from doing something similar) often don't know what to do or what to say, but nonetheless, that still doesn't stop them from trying.
> 
>  **Solace** \- Will Solace  
>  **Will** \- William James Sol
> 
> For **InsaneFictionGeek**! Finally, someone asked how Will kept the ring through his lives! XD  
>  Also for **bailci** , thanks for looking over the incomplete chapter!

" _Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up."  
_ ― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman, Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones

Will knew something was wrong the moment he heard hooves behind him. He had just gotten out of his cabin and decided to do some archery practice to improve his aim.

He put down his bow and arrows, turning around to see Chiron heading towards him, face filled with determination. "Chiron?" He asked worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"Will." The hero trainer stopped in front of him and he kneeled, telling the son of Apollo with his eyes to get on. The demigod did so with great confusion, shouldering his bow and putting back his arrow. "I need your help with something- more like someone." The centaur stood and started to gallop very quickly towards the Big House. Will had to grab at his shoulders to make sure he didn't slip off. "There's this person who visits at camp, he stays at Hades' cabin. He is a son of Hades and he had been granted immortality a long time ago by the gods."

Will looked up, interested. For some reason his he could feel his heart pounding, but that was most probably because of how fast the centaur was going. "What?"

"Yes, he's a minor god and he has lived for a very long time." Chiron explained as he dodged campers who were in the way. "He has… grown  _weary_  of his life, of all the suffering he had undergone, of his  _very_  long existence." The trainer's tone was somber, "And earlier today, lord Hades has given the boy a vial of poison. A gift of choice."

His hands were cold, his heart felt numb and he was looking at the back of Chiron's head with wide eyes, "But that's-" He swallowed thickly, "Do you think he's going to-"

"He has made his choice a long time ago." Chiron said seriously and Will's heart dropped. "It is only now, though, that he is allowed to act upon his choice."

"Why?" Will asked weakly, "I mean, even if he's a minor god, if he killed himself he'd end up in- in Asphodel. He won't be seen as a hero if he died by his own hand and even if Hades is his dad-"

"I guess he is just that weary of the real world that he doesn't even mind staying in the Fields of Asphodel." Chiron answered as they sped up, approaching the Big House. "You have to understand something, Will, this son of Hades has lost everyone he had ever held dear. He has lived for so long and watched so many people he had come to love, grow old and die. He has a tired, old soul that just wants to rest."

"But, I don't understand." Will frowned, "He should have known from the start that being immortal meant seeing everyone you love grow old and die. So why did he choose to be a minor god anyway? For the power?"

"No, far from that." The hero trainer said, brown eyes crinkling with sadness, "What do you think is the main reason why heroes do foolish things?" He asked, "Why did Frank Zhang kill hundreds of  _katoblepones_  for Triptolemus? Why did Leo Valdez swear an oath to keep with a final breath? Why did Percy Jackson hold up the sky, turn down immortality, and fall into Tartarus with Annabeth Chase?"

"I, uh-"

"It was all for love, William James Sol." Chiron said quietly, "The main reason, is always love."

The son of Apollo blinked, mouth dry and speechless for the first time. He looked at the looming Big House and turned back to Chiron. "So, this guy… this uh, son of Hades? The Death guy? He became immortal for someone he loved?" Will asked carefully.

"To stay with the person he treasured the most, he gave up his own mortality and walked with the dead until his beloved could pass on." The centaur said, "That was his sacrifice."

His heart thudded painfully against his ribs and he felt inexplicable sadness for some reason. He cleared his throat. "Okay." Will took in a deep breath. "But Chiron, you have to understand, if a _god_  gave him the poison and if he really is intent in drinking it and dying, I don't think my powers would be enough to heal him."

The tired centaur shook his head. "That's not what I'm asking of you, Will." He said. "I want you to convince him  _not_  to drink the poison."

Blue eyes blinked in astonishment, "What?"

"You're a healer and more than anyone you know the value of life." The hero trainer said, "Ni- The son of Hades needs a reminder of that. And I believe, no one but you, can convince him."

"But why me?"

"More than anyone he would definitely listen to you." Chiron said, not really giving him a proper answer, "Please. A lot of people love him but sometimes it is difficult for him to see that. I think someone needs to remind him."

Will's nose wrinkled, "But- I don't even know him." He argued. "Isn't it better if it's someone who knows him or, I don't know maybe you could do it instead?"

"I have tried but it has to be  _you_ , Will." Chiron said patiently. Blue eyes met chestnut colored ones. Whatever Will saw in Chiron's eyes made his shoulders slump as he nodded. Chiron finally stopped by the Big House's porch to let him off. The son of Apollo slid off the centaur's back easily.

He met Chiron's serious gaze once more before he ran up to the Big House in determination, unknowing of the sad gaze on his back.

The old hero trainer bowed his head in a semblance of a prayer and said, "It always has to be you, Will Solace."

* * *

Will opened the Big House door with scrunched eyebrows, looking around warily. The silence did nothing to ease his frazzled nerves. In the back of his mind, he wondered if maybe he was too late, if maybe Chiron's trust was misplaced on him and he'd end up being too late to save a person he didn't know.

His hands clenched against the wooden door, closing it behind him as he swiftly scanned the front room. He didn't understand why his heart was beating so loudly or why his temperature had elevated. He gripped his bow and realized he was scared and anxious, maybe because this was a first for him or because he had been entrusted with someone's life. No matter how long he'd been healing he never got used to having someone's life in his hands.

But deep in his heart there was something more to that anxiousness. A bone-deep fear he had only felt once, when he had gotten that call in school, one day, that his mom had been in an accident. His stomach felt like it was filled with acid and his body felt like it was paralyzed with cold.

But of course, that did not make sense. He barely knew the guy and although he was desperate to save this son of Hades (his heart skipped a beat and he had to put a hand to his chest, wondering if he was going to have some sort of panic attack), he still did not know this person and thus, his actions should not warrant such a bone-deep fear inside of him.

The son of Apollo shook his head and quickly looked through the rooms, already mentally practicing what he could say to stop the minor god from committing the act.

After the third room he failed to see the son of Hades in, he heard a distant dragging of chair, as though someone was getting up. He ran towards the sitting room (the one Chiron came out of the first time Will met him) and slammed the door open.

His blood ran cold. Before his eyes could fully take in the sight of the dark-haired teen drinking down a small vial of violet liquid, a loud "NO!" came from his own mouth, surprising him. He had never ever raised his voice and the tone sounded so desperate that he was tempted to look around, expecting someone else to have shouted it.

But then his feet were moving for him, closing the distance between them at a surprising pace. His hand moved automatically, knocking the vial to the floor and shattering it into a million pieces along with the remaining drop of poison. In his panic he grabbed the surprised minor god by the shirt, eyes searching as dark eyes snapped open to look at him.

The teen looked barely older than him, probably around his age or younger, an inch or two shorter. He had dark hair and olive pale skin which made him glow in the dim lighting coupled with his dark attire. Will called him Death guy but really, he was more like a  _boy_ , and before he could help himself, words were tumbling out of his mouth.

"Don't you dare leave me, Death Boy." The steely tone behind his words surprised him and yet he found himself unable to care much. His heart was thrumming loudly in his ears and it felt like his temperature was higher than normal. The nickname he came up with on the spot rolled down his tongue perfectly as though he had been saying it his whole life. The teen in his hands looked up at him as though seeing a ghost.

"Will…" A pale hand held his wrist and Will froze at the electric current that went through his veins. It was so strong that the two of them jumped apart in surprise.

"Wha-" The son of Apollo began to say, but then the son of Hades seemed to have regained himself and realized what just happened. Dark shadows began to gather under the dark-haired teen's feet and a black sword was pointed directly at him.

The scowl on Death Boy's face was murderous, but for some reason Will wasn't afraid of it, he was more afraid of the poison vial that lay shattered near their feet. " _Who are you?_ " He growled and Will had to step back at the murderous aura the other exuded. The temperature around them dropped. " _Why do you wear that face?_ "

Will frowned in confusion. Despite the  _clearly_  murderous look on the other's face, he didn't feel as afraid as he should have been. He believed, for some reason he could not understand, that this person before him would never hurt him. Truthfully, instead of his body shaking in fear at the threat he was more anxious to get close to the son of Hades again, his chest was swelling with… _happiness_ (what in tartarus?)and maybe a touch of  _anger._  He felt the urge to punch himself for the inappropriate reactions.

 _He just swallowed a bottle of deadly poison!_  He argued with himself.  _Pull yourself together! You have to talk him down and check up on him fast! You only have minutes, possibly even seconds or he might die!_

Those words seemed to do the trick and to Will's relief he found himself able to control his body again (albeit, his hands and legs were still shaking for some unknown reason) as he held up his hands. "Hey, it's fine. Everything will be alright, I'm a medic, a son of Apollo my name is-"

"Let me guess, your name is  _Will_." The person before him spat to his surprise, "What sort of  _sick joke_  is this? Are you an  _empousai_? Some sort of minor god in disguise?"

"I'm not a monster or a god!" He yelled frustrated, "I'm a demigod just like you were once! I'm a son of Apollo and Chiron sent me to stop you-"

"Chiron sent you?" The sword lowered a bit and Will let out a relieved breath. The pale face seemed torn between horrified and disgusted, "Why would he send  _you_? Is this a plan between the gods? Is this their attempt at trying to stop me just when I have freedom in my grasp?"

"No-"

The son of Hades let out a shout, "IT WON'T WORK!" There was a strong expulsion of darkness and Will stood his ground. The dark-haired teen was looking up at the ceiling. "It's useless, you hear me? I already drank the poison! This kid,  _whoever he is_ , he  _isn't Will_! The  _real_ Will is already gone! YOUR STUPID WAR BETWEEN THE TITANS TOOK HIM!"

The son of Apollo tried to step forward. His heart was beating frantically in his chest, it hurt and he gasped at the pain. For a moment, he was worried that it was giving out on him. "Death bo-" He gasped and he swallowed a lungful of air as he yelled above the strong wind, "What in Tartarus are you talking about?" He shouted, "What do you mean the real Will is gone- I'M RIGHT HERE!"

The words seem to shock some sense into the other into looking at him. Blue eyes met dark ones and the fury in the shorter' teen's face grew. "NO!" Will put his arms up, shielding his face from the sudden dark wind, his cheek was cut from the sharp pressure. He felt something warm trickle down his skin. "Will isn't here! He is _gone_! HE LEFT ME! Like everyone else he-!" He choked, "He left me and I-!"

Unable to take the shouting anymore, the son of Apollo fought against the strong currents, grabbed the dark haired teen by the front of his shirt and punched him.

The punch effectively shut the other teen up, the dark force dying out almost immediately as wide dark eyes looked at him. Will straightened warily, wiping the blood from his cheek as he settled both hands on the other's shoulders. The teen flinched violently but wasn't struggling away from him. He didn't seem like he'd be letting out anymore shadows. This was both worrying and relieving; the poison could have acted already on his system and blocked his usage of his power.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about or what you've been through or why someone would leave you…I wasn't there…" Words were struggling to get out of his mouth, an unknown emotion pressing at his chest as he took in a deep breath. "But I don't want you to do this! Chiron doesn't want you to do this and I'm sure everyone you know would agree! That has to mean something right?"

The stunned son of Hades seemed to shake the surprise out of his system, his expression grew angry and Will felt goosebumps rise on his skin. "Get off me!" The dark-haired teen struggled and growled, "You don't-!" But then nothing more came out of his mouth, dark eyes wide and unseeing.

Will's eyes widened when the other teen's body suddenly tensed and convulsed before slumping towards him. He placed his arms around him immediately, carefully lying him down on the floor, "Hey! What-" He grabbed the son of Hades' hands, eyes widening when he felt the poison spreading through the bloodstream. "No." He said as he brushed back dark bangs, pulling eyelids open and being greeted with unseeing eyes. "No, no, no…  _No_. You aren't doing this to me… you aren't doing this to me, Death boy."

He felt his hands grow warm as he frantically began to hum a tune for Apollo. The rest of his body was cold and his shoulders were shaking, eyes burning for some odd reason. He had always prided himself for keeping a cool head during situations like these, but for some reason his body chose now of all days to go completely berserk on him.

He didn't understand… but he felt like this was something he couldn't let go. If he let this boy slip through his fingers, he won't get another chance.

But… Another chance at  _what_?

His heart was beating so strongly against his ribs, drowning out all other sounds as he held the pale face, humming quickly. With his senses opened like this, he could feel the other's heart beat slowing down as the son of Hades' breath cut off. His hands automatically placed themselves on the teen's chest, trying to keep his heart beating. He stopped and tilted the dark-haired teen's chin, performing CPR before going back to pumping his heart, his hands glowing all the while as his healing energy poured into the heart, trying to get it to restart.

He didn't know how long he'd been at it, how long he'd stayed in between that rush of panic and  _nononono_  in his head before several pairs of hands dragged him back.

"Will! WILL!" That sounded like Michael, and calloused fingers were tilting his head up to look into blue eyes. "Hey, hey bro, it's me… it's me. Are you alright? Can you calm down for us?"

"Mike-" He choked before looking around wildly, "Death boy-"

"Hey, it's fine, it'll be fine." Another voice. It was Kylie, she was kneeling next to him, cupping his face to turn his eyes to hers instead, "You did good, everything's okay."

"Death boy-"

"It's fine- He's fine." Kylie assured him with a small smile. "We're getting a response and his heart rate is low but it's there, you did good. You did good." She assured him.

"I-" He looked down at his hands which were still glowing golden. He blinked an realized that it wasn't just hands that were glowing, his entire body was covered by a thin sheen of gold. Apollo's blessing. He blinked, eyes blurry and somehow, he felt nauseous.

Kylie and Michael placed a hand on each of his glowing ones.

"Hey," Michael said quietly, "It's okay now, bro. He's fine now, you can stop now."

"We'll take care of him, okay?" Kylie kissed his forehead, "You can let go now." Her soft hands tightened around his.

Will nodded weakly, eyes fluttering as the golden aura around him vanished. He slumped towards his brother who caught him.

"It'll be fine, Will. You can go to sleep." Blue eyes slowly closed as he felt arms gently steering him towards the infirmary.

"Good job, Will."

* * *

_The place was dark and cold, a great contrast to the bright and warm atmosphere of Elysium. A boy stood near a river with dark waters, seeming unperturbed by his surroundings. In fact, he seems more at ease in the darkness, as though he felt the darkness protected rather than hide unseen enemies._

_Will knew he was dreaming, whether this was a prophetic dream or just something his tired mind came up with, still remains to be seen. But for now, he knew, at the very least, that he was occupying the lone boy's body, seeing the darkness through his eyes. He wondered who this boy (whose body he was currently occupying) was. Was it someone he knew? Or is it someone he will soon know?_

_Suddenly his skin (the boy's skin really) tingled and the darkness all around him seemed to shift, as though making way for the sudden bright light that exploded into existence. A familiar, tall man with curly blond hair and perfect tanned skin dressed in an Elvis cosplay, stepped out of the light._

_Will found himself face-to-face with none other than the sun god, his father, Apollo._

Dad!  _He yelled but his mouth didn't move. He remembered he was in a dream and currently wasn't occupying his own body._

" _You prayed for me." It was strange to see Apollo so weary. He didn't have his trust Ray bans with him, his eyes were sad as he looked at the lone boy Will was currently occupying._

_Will felt his mouth twitch up in something like a smile, before it opened without his consent. "I didn't think you would come."_

_Apollo seemed crestfallen at the words, "Of course I would! Despite of what many would think of the gods, you're still my son and I may not show it much but I love you and your siblings dearly."_

_Will realized that the person talking to Apollo was another of his half-siblings. He wondered if he knew this boy._

" _Thank you." He heard himself say, "I wanted to see you before I go."_

" _Are you sure?" Apollo asked, the weary expression on his face was starting to worry Will. "You could stay in Elysium longer."_ Oh, so this was the underworld,  _Will thought. "If you leave now you will be subjected to a long search. It is far from easy, my son."_

_Will felt the boy shake his head slowly, "I can't keep him waiting." His father's eyes turned pained. "Can I ask you one last favor, dad?"_

" _Of course." The sun god said quickly._

_The son of Apollo smiled. Will felt his current vessel lift his arms and unclasp something that was around his neck. Will watched, wide-eyed, as a familiar dark chord with a hanging skull ring was extended to the god of Prophecy. Will fought to get it back, but his hands and arms weren't his own and they didn't even budge. He was nothing more than an audience to this memory, after all. His real body was lying somewhere, probably in the infirmary, the necklace still under his shirt._

_The thought did nothing to quench the panic he felt at the possible separation with the skull ring though._

_Apollo accepted the object with great care._

" _Wherever I may be…" The boy spoke, "Whatever form I may take, whether I am reborn to be your son or not…" His tone was soft, careful, and clear. "Make sure it always finds a way back to my side." Apollo met his eyes. "Make sure I always find it."_

_Apollo gave his son a sad look. He pocketed the necklace before reaching out and pulling his son into a hug. "I am proud of you, my son."_

_Will's vessel slumped into the embrace, shoulders relaxing as his eyes closed._

_It was a while before Apollo finally let go._

" _Να είστε καλά και ευτυχισμένη , γιος του σκότους." Apollo started, eyes glowing like sunrise. "Να είστε μαζί του και την παραμονή, ο γιος του φωτός."_

" _That sounded ominous." The boy spoke jokingly. "And I couldn't quite catch that."_

" _It's a blessing." Apollo assured him, "Made by a certain Roman Praetor. Just translated it to the god's language."_

" _And in English, what does it mean?"_

" _It means," Apollo sighed, "Be well and happy, son of darkness. Be with him and stay, son of light."_

_Will didn't know what expression was on his face but Apollo gave him one more fierce hug, before letting go. The sun god stepped back, hesitation clear in his eyes._

" _Goodbye and goodluck, Will Solace." He said as he sunk into the light, "I love you, my son."_

_He vanished._

_Will froze in shock._ Did he say Will Solace?

 _As he was busy internalizing('_ oh my gods, this is Will Solace's memories. The best medic Camp Half-Blood has ever seen and I am currently seeing everything through  _his_  eyes, I-'),  _he felt Solace turn and walk towards the dark river behind him._

_Will stopped his internal ramblings when he saw where they were headed. His heart squeezed in fear._

_Solace stopped at the edge of the river, kneeling down to look at the water. Because of the dark environment, it was hard to see his reflection in the water. However, his skin started to tingle again and he looked down on his hands and saw a bright golden glow surrounding Solace's body. His eyes were immediately drawn to his, now clear, reflection on the water's surface._

_William James Sol froze as his own face greeted him back from the waters._

_However, instead of the wide-eyed slack jaw expression he was expecting, a weary and sad expression greeted him back. He kept forgetting that this wasn't his body, that he was just audience and that even if the features in the water eerily resembled his own, the face was_ not his _. The person looking back at him was Will Solace._

_Suddenly, Will felt his mouth move and his eyes (Solace's eyes) were determinedly trained on his reflection._

" _Take care of him for me." With their current position, Will felt like Solace was speaking directly at him. And maybe it was crazy, but he had a feeling that Solace_ was _speaking to him._

Take care of who?  _Will wanted to ask._

_He watched in surprise as Solace's reflection slowly changed. First he looked like a young, cheerful, but clumsy brunet, then a light-haired orphan with dark eyes, next a dark haired man with thoughtful blue eyes and tanned skin, and lastly he was a shaggy blond with warm eyes and a stethoscope around his neck._

_He blinked and his reflection was back to the usual weary one._

" _You know who." His blond reflection answered._

_And then Will Solace leaned forward and fell into the River Lethe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone can provide me a proper greek translation of Reyna's blessing? Something not dredged up by google chrome? XD Also, the demigods aren't a hundred percent fluent in Ancient Greek.
> 
> You know, somehow I've given up trying to foretell what chapter this thing will end, ALL I KNOW IS THAT IT'S SOON. Sorry for the late update, a lot of people (from my other accounts) were pressuring me to write and I had to step back and say, "whoa, cool your jets, I don't do well under pressure." But I was able to continue writing because of your wonderful comments, bookmarks, and kudos QAQ thank you!
> 
> Also, I really needed a SolAngelo buddy who can tell me if my next chapter is good to go or not -_- Like someone who can look over it or something.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write faster if someone bribes me with food. FOOD. Also I hope this chapter didn't end up too dramatic. I tried to explore how an immortal would feel, sadly, I am not an immortal so I don't know if I got the feelings through.
> 
> Special thanks to Bianca (bailci) again for looking this over for me T_T Sorry for the emails and also to the anon who sent me wonderful inspiring messages in tumblr! Thank you for those who commented in this story, who gave kudos, and added this story to bookmarks! Thank you readers and SolAngelo fans!

" _For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought."  
_ ― Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene

 

Relief and disappointment were the first things Nico felt when he opened his eyes and was met with the familiar wooden ceiling of the infirmary. He had been to the fields of Asphodel and Punishment enough of times before to know that when you die to know that it didn't have any wooden ceilings or the constant scent of antiseptic in the air. The again, maybe he'd died and gone to Elysium and Will was somewhere nearby, but his father was a fair judge and wouldn't grant him that happiness after the poison incident, despite everything he had done for the gods and the fact that the poison came from Hades himself.

The son of Hades let out a frustrated breath as he ran a slightly shaking hand down his face. He didn't know why he didn't die. He thought the poison would be stronger than that. Maybe it needed to be drained completely to kill him instantly, but a certain son of Apollo stopped him before he could-

Nico sat up so fast he was dizzy, but still that did not stop him from looking around wildly. When his sight finally landed on the occupied bed next to him, his heart almost stopped. The blond that had looked so much like Will, was lying on his own infirmary, face and lips pale. The scene looked so familiar and so frightening that the son of Hades forgot his wariness, forgot his initial suspicion and doubt. He was clambering off his own mattress and almost running to the other teen's side, eyes wide with fear and pale hands shaking as he reached out to cup the familiar looking face.

"No…" His voice was breathless with fear, eyes burning with the fierce emotion of remorse, "No, no, not again. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He gasped, blinking rapidly, "I didn't- I didn't mean to- I-"

As though hearing his prayers to whichever god he could think of, the blond let out a shaky breath. Eyelashes fluttering as he shivered in Nico's hold, cheeks regaining color as though all he needed was his touch to bring him back. The dark-haired teen's hold on the other's face loosened and his fingers ran through the sides of the blond's face instead, shaking and relieved and hesitant.

In the back of his mind Nico knew that this wasn't Will, yet that knowledge was currently being drowned out by his fear and relief that this boy was all right, that he was good, that he was  _safe_ (and not dying).

Pretty soon, blue eyes peeked out and pinned Nico with a stare. "Unf."

And that, more than anything, was finally what prompted his abrupt retraction, flinching and looking away immediately, a frown on his lips. "Sorry, I-"

"Mmmf." Came a muffled reply and the ineligible sound was what prompted the Ghost King to turn back.

"What?"

The blond-  _not_   _Will_ , Nico told himself, heart cringing- smacked his dry lips, blinking heavily before he opened his mouth and said in a rough voice, "I said," He croaked, "You're not supposed to be out of bed."

The familiar statement felt like ice down his spine as he took a large step back, eyes wide yet closed off. Here was a person that looked so much like Will and talked like him. He was more than a little wary, suspicious… angry at most.

He wondered if this was some sort of punishment or maybe a joke.

"You're one to talk." Nico said, turning his back on the familiar looking blond. He knew that it wasn't the blond's fault that he had such a face, but in his circumstance, anger was so much easier than feeling any pain. The blond didn't know any of Nico's past and thus, didn't deserve the anger directed at him but Nico can't help but feel a little resentment at his naivety of the situation.

"I can already tell you're going to be a difficult patient." Not Will said with a sigh, voice still a little hoarse and maybe if Nico wasn't so determined to be angry at him, he'd have gotten him some water but he ignored his conscience and kept his back turned.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have barged in and stopped me!" Nico snapped, "Maybe you should have let me drink the poison! Then you wouldn't be having a difficult patient in your hands!"

"Having a dead body in my hands isn't any better!" The angry tone surprised the son of Hades in turning towards the Will-look-alike. His hair was slightly matted, hair stuck to his forehead, face pale. Still, pale blue eyes were narrowed and his slightly white lips were pursed. One of his legs was thrown over the bed, as though he planned to get up but his arms were shaking from supporting his upper body in sitting up. "I mean, I expected you weren't going to be grateful with the whole 'saving-your-life' thing-"

"I didn't  _ask_  you to save me-"

"Oh, so what? You expected me to sit back and do nothing when Chiron told me about your stupid decision?" The blond's voice was raised, trying to overpower Nico. The immortal teen scowled. "You know there are other people out there who would  _kill_  to have an immortal life-"

"Those people aren't  _me_. They don't know what I've been  _through_.  _You_  don't know what I've been through." Nico hissed, "You can't understand even half of what I feel and how tired I am at _always_ being a tool, at  _always_  being at the gods' disposal!" A distant thunder rumbled, easily ignored by both teens.

"That's a selfish point of view." The blond stood up now, legs shaky and Nico had the crazy urge to push him to the floor and runaway. "You're not the only person suffering in this world, there are other people out there who have it worse and still  _want to keep on going_! Clearly, not enough people tell you this, but the world  _doesn't_  revolve around you, death boy!"

"Don't call me that!" And if his body wasn't so exhausted from fighting off the poison and the earlier power display, it would be expelling darkness right about now. "You don't get to call me that!"

"Well, I'm sorry, I wasn't exactly graced with a name when I was sent to save your sorry butt."

"I didn't  _asked_  to be saved." Nico gritted his teeth. Still, he tried to reign in his temper, he knew that he would be staying here for awhile, under the watchful eye of Chiron (and the praetor Romario if, gods forbid, he heard of this) and being angry at a young demigod for something that wasn't his fault would be highly disadvantageous, especially if he planned to get out of the infirmary soon. He took in a deep breath, "I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades and a minor god of darkness and death."

The blond blinked at him and Nico's scowl was back.

" _What?_ "

The other demigod just shook his head, as though trying to clear it, "I-I'm William James Sol, you can call me Will. Son of Apollo."

Silence fell upon them, Will tried not to squirm.

"You're joking." The tone was cold, disbelieving.

The son of Apollo's eyebrows furrowed. "That's the name in my birth certificate. So, no, I am definitely not joking."

"That can't be your name." Nico shook his head seriously, eyes wide. "You can't have that face and have that name."

"What?" Will reached out, noticing the other's pale face. Something in his heart clenched at the sight. "What are you talking about?" And with hesitation he added, "Are you, okay?"

The son of Hades jumped back, hissing in anger, hurt, and confusion. "You're messing with me. The  _gods_  are messing with me. Who are you,  _really_?" He said in an accusing tone.

The blond pushed towards him, "I told you-"

"No!" Nico snarled grabbing him by the front of his shirt with one hand. "You're not-" For a moment, Nico looked into Will's face with a wide-eyed searching look. "Even if it's reincarnation or-or sorcery, no one- no one can look exactly the same as  _him_. Something is  _always_  different,  _will always be different_. The eyes, the nose, the shape of the face,  _a different godly parent_." He seemed to be trying to convince himself that, "You're a trick, or-or a punishment-" But then his hand brushed against the necklace hidden under Will's shirt and the son of Hades froze as he touched something that felt metallic. It reacted to him. It felt like his own power calling to him.

Before he knew what he was doing, he was already pulling the black chord from underneath his shirt despite Will's weak protests. His breath hitched and his hand shook when his sight met the familiar skull ring.

A warm hand closed around his, "Nico-"

The son of Hades jumped back as if burned, swaying slightly at his movement. Will immediately backtracked, stumbling a bit as he held his hands up, "Hey, it's okay, I won't touch you." He assured him, pale blue eyes tinged with worry and looking so much like the Will Nico knew so long ago. that it made him breathe in sharply. "Just- you're not recovered from the poison yet. And you need to rest."

"I'm immortal." The shorter teen's mouth opened automatically, yet his eyes stayed fixed on Will, "I don't need-" But his rant was cut off when his knees gave way and Will was on his side seconds later, holding him up by the arms even though he himself was shaking having given almost his all in healing the prince of darkness.

Nico tries not to shiver at the familiar warmth, tries pulling away, eyes burning as he choked out, "It can't be- You can't be-"

"Hey, shh…" Dark eyes couldn't bear to look at the soft expression on Will's face and dropped instead to look at the ring swinging on the black chord around the blond's neck. It couldn't be- it was too much of a coincidence, but here was the proof around Will's neck that the person currently holding him had the same soul as his Will, had the same heart.

But not the same memories.

Nico does his best to pull away again. The revelation is too big, he needs to be by himself, needs to sink back into familiar cold and darkness, he needs to be numb for awhile because this…  _this_ is just too much. He can't- couldn't-

Then he felt warmth curling in his chest, eyes going heavy as he felt more than heard the wheezes from Will as he infused Nico with his medical magic, one that eased panic by lulling a person to sleep. The son of Hades tried to struggle but the weak grip on his shoulder was determined, as the son of Apollo exhausted himself through his powers.

"Sleep."

And Nico's body helplessly slumped at the order.

* * *

The sound of hooves on a wooden floor was finally what woke Nico from his magic-induced sleep. He blinked up at the familiar ceiling of the infirmary for several seconds, noting that it was dark and several hours must have passed since he first woke up. He was also aware that Will wasn't there, probably having moved himself when he realized he was the source of Nico's aggravation. It would be like him, to move himself to the Apollo cabin, despite the fact that he needed the infirmary to get better too, just to make sure he was uncomfortable.

"No chance that all of that could have been a dream?" He said in a soft tone that was heard clearly in the silence.

"No," Chiron's world-weary tone answered him. "No, I'm afraid not."

Pale hands gripped the blanket thrown over him. The son of Hades refused to look at the tired centaur. "You didn't tell me."

There was a sigh from the trainer of heroes that irked Nico, making him feel like his constantly enraged teenage self again. "And then what, son of Hades?" He asked, tone wistful, "I'll watch you runaway from everyone you ever cared about again? Watch you hurt yourself through isolation once more? Watch the friends you have accumulated worry about you again?"

Nico bit his lip, sitting up. "You can't claim that I would have done that."

"But you did so before. And you would do so again, you haven't even the heart to deny it." Chiron said and finally Nico looked at him, regretting it immediately when he saw the age-old pain there. "I know that seeing him hurts you."

The son of Hades looked at his lap, "I thought he was a trick."

"I thought so too."

"But the ring-"

"Apollo's doing, apparently. It was… Will's last request to have it in every life he would be reborn in, to keep it always by his side." The centaur said softly, "So that one day when you meet again, you will see it and you will know," Nico met his eyes, soft brown ones his own dark eyes. "That he is always waiting for you."

The son of Hades felt his throat close off, eyes burning as he blinked rapidly. He focused on his shaking hands. His shoulders trembled as his hands formed into fists, slowly shaking his head.

"I can't-" He choked.

"Nico-"

"Chiron, you know I can't stay." His voice trembled in its vulnerability. "All these years, watching- watching everyone grow old and- and die. I can't-" He breathed in shakily, "I can't watch someone who looks so much like Will go on with life, not knowing who I am… Not knowing who he was before, not knowing who he was-  _is_  to me and then  _dying_   _again_. Be it at old age or- or another battle-"

"Leaving now will hurt him-"

"No." Nico took a deep breath, looking at Chiron with hard, burning eyes. "No, it will only hurt me. I don't age and I don't die. If he grows to care for me-" His breath hitched, eyes wide and vulnerable.

"He will be forced to part with you either way. And it will pain him too." Chiron finished for him with a bone-deep sigh. He hung his head in shame. "Nico di Angelo, I am sorry. I have always known, the moment you stepped into camp, that one way or another, you will find yourself an outcast, as it seems to be an unavoidable destiny of all children of Hades. But then I saw the way you made friends, finally being accepted not only in one camp but in two, and having Will Solace with you- I had- I had hoped that maybe, you will be spared and that the Fates would not be so cruel."

The son of Hades let out a bitter laugh, "Since when have the Fates ever been kind?" He buried his face into his hands, letting his laughter subside into silent hiccups. "I'm sorry, Chiron, it seems like I will have to rely on you in telling everyone that I'm leaving." The centaur looked at him sadly.

"And your return?"

"-Will not be until the end of their lives." Nico said hollowly, eyes looking blankly through his fingers. "Or maybe, I won't even return at all."

There was no breath of surprise from the centaur, there was only silent acceptance. He did, after all, know that Nico was tired of never changing while everything around him moved on. Tired of seeing friends reborn, befriending them, watching them die, and befriending them again. This was why the gods had always held themselves in isolation, they knew they didn't fit in and did not need to be reminded of that constantly.

"Your decision, whatever it may be…" Chiron said, "Know that you are always welcome here."

"Thanks, Chiron." Nico answered tiredly. The centaur inclined his head in exhaustion.

"I will leave you to your rest." He said as he trotted to the exit. Then he paused, "Be well, son of Hades and… thank you." He closed the door behind him, letting the sound echo in the empty in infirmary.

The son of Hades dropped his face into his hands, knees curling protectively near his chest.

And for the first time in years, he allowed his tears to spill and his broken breaths to be his companion for the night.

* * *

Will woke up around four in the morning. His eyes were heavy and his thoughts were still muddled with sleepy confusion, holding on to the traces of his dreams, which strangely enough, revolved around a certain son of Hades. He knew it wasn't real, especially since it involved Nico wearing a colorful shirt and a fierce flush on his face as they held hands. This  _impossible_  thought was what allowed him to shake off the last traces of his dreams. He stumbled out of his bed, shaking his head and wondering what could have woken him up so early.

His mind was still, somewhat, a jumbled mess from sleep and his body was no better. It was sore and his limbs were heavy, but beneath his skin, his nerves tingled and itched. He found himself getting a glass of water to drink before placing it on the nearest table and heading out to the cold night, not even bothering to put on a jacket.

The itchiness under his skin settled a bit as the cold air nipped at his skin. Will let out a sigh of relief before he looked up at a sky, noting the clouds obscuring the stars and the moon. It looked like it might rain and he had no umbrella or jacket to protect him from this possibility. He was already thinking of going back to his warm bed, ready to ignore the sensation of  _something_ underneath his skin when he saw movement coming from the corner of his eyes, in the direction of the infirmary.

Knowing of only one person staying in that general direction, Will found himself running blindly through the darkness.

He over estimated his senses though, because before he knew it, a hand was grabbing his arm and pulling him back from a collision with one of the infirmary's pillar's. The son of Apollo tried his best not to jump in shock at the sudden touch as he spun around and came face-to-face with a certain immortal.

"What in Hades, are you doing?" Came a hiss from the dark, barely seen figure in front of him. Will's eyes have yet to adjust to the darkness.

"I could ask  _you_  that, death boy." Will said, trying not to sound breathless. His heart was pounding both from surprise and something else. "What are  _you_  doing, sneaking around so late at night?"

Will didn't need light to see the scowl that was probably on the other's face. "None of your business." He said, letting go of the blond's arm and turning around but Will caught him by the shoulder.

"You'll find that since you're currently under the care of the Camp's infirmary, which is under the care of Apollo's cabin, which I belong to, by the way- that it  _is_  my business." Will said seriously, an unimpressed frown on his face. "Especially if whatever you're doing is detrimental to your health and could set back your recovery, etc., etc…"

"Oh, I'm sorry for being such a burden." Nico said sarcastically, being the ungrateful demigod he was. Will's hand on his shoulder tightened in response.

"Look," The blond said, taking in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself enough to let go. "I get that for some unknown, unjustified reason, you probably don't like me and frankly, I'm finding it hard to like you too, seeing as you're the worst patient I've ever come across." His lips pursed into a thin line for a moment before he continued, playing with the ring on the his black chord necklace, "And now that I think about it, my attitude towards you isn't probably helping the situation and stuff- but you know if I make an effort of being less annoying, maybe you could do the same? I mean, I'm not asking you to magically be nice to me and do a complete one-eighty but maybe, if you can be a little  _less_  stubborn we can start from there and see what-" But then the blond blinked when Nico suddenly stepped forward into his personal space, effectively distracting him from his words. "Hey, what-"

The son of Apollo was cut off from his rant and questions when a hand held the back of his neck fast. Will found his sight adjusting to the darkness and he could make out Nico's dark eyes looking into his.

"Honestly," He said, voice fond and, for some reason, sad. "You talk too much." Nico said simply before placing his other hand on his face and catching him off guard with a soft kiss. Pale blue eyes widened at the contact, heat traveling across Will's cheeks as his breath hitched in surprise at the sudden gesture.

Too soon, the warm contact between them was over and Nico was leaning back, face somber as Will gaped at him.

"I'm leaving, Will."

Embarrassingly enough, it took at least a few minutes for the words to sink in and for Will to freeze under Nico's touch.

"What?"

"You don't have to go through all that trouble of being nice to me anymore because  _I'm leaving_ , Sol. Aren't you relieved?" Nico tried for a smirk but it fell flat, his hands retracting. But Will held fast, grabbing the hand on his face.

"Don't you dare." Will warned, the pulse underneath his skin thrumming nervously. His hand tightened around the cold one in his grip. "What do you mean you're leaving? You're not even recovered yet!"

Dark eyes hardened as Nico tried to pull back his hand to no avail. "I'm immortal, I don't need to stay cooped up in some infirmary to recover. In fact, I'm confident enough to say that I'm already fine. A hundred percent recovered."

"Stop lying through your teeth. Let me remind you that between the two of us  _I'm_  the son of Apollo.  _I'm_  the medic here and I can tell just from touching you that you're still exhausted, your energy levels are low from your recent poison intake." Will snapped.

"So my recovery is taking a little time, I still don't think you can stop me from leaving." The son of Hades said sharply. "I'm immortal, I've lived a  _lot_  longer than you and I'm pretty sure that I can handle myself. I'm also a nomad, I don't stay in the same place for too long. None of the people here or in Camp Jupiter has ever succeeded in making me stay, what makes  _you_  so special?"

 _Because you kissed me and that has to mean something._  Will found himself wanting to say. But then again, Nico never did say that that kiss meant anything deeper, maybe it was just his way of distracting Will enough to shut him up. Or maybe, he found it fun, messing with other people's heads.

Instead of bristling with anger at the thought, Will found his shoulder slumping dejectedly, his grip on the other's hand loosening enough for him to pull back.

"Fine." Will found himself saying, despite the confusing  _nonono_  mantra in his head. "At least tell me when you'll be back." His eyes were trained to the ground. He fervently hoped that the darkness was enough to hide the hurt and confused expression on his face.

"I'm not coming back." The words were enough to have Will's head snap up in horror.

" _What?_ "

"I'm not coming back." Nico said, a determined light in his eyes and a frown on his face. "Not in your lifetime, maybe not even ever."

"What- But- but you can't!" His throat was dry, eyes burning and wide. He made for a wild grab for Nico's hand. "You can't go! Not again! Not after all this time!" He was only half aware of the words spilling out of his mouth.

Nico looked at him in surprise, "What do you mean ' _not again'_?"

"I've-" Will choked. "All this time I-" He tried to say more but nothing came out of his mouth. Overhead, a single rain drop fell on his cheek as the rain finally came to pass.

For a moment, the silence between them was drowned by the gentle downpour.

The son of Apollo let out a single, cold breath. His hand was shaking as it tightened its grip on Nico's hand. "Please…" His voice so much smaller now, "Please don't go."

Dark eyes were wide as the son of Hades took his hand away from the other's hold, "You can't ask that of me."

"Please-"

"I'm immortal." Nico hissed, "If I stay…" His breath hitched, "If you make me stay, I'll watch your grow old, I'll see you die-" He choked, "You can't be cruel enough to ask me that."

"I-"

"You're mortal and fragile and-" The son of Hades blinked rapidly, the rain getting in his eyes and trailing down his cheeks. "-And you don't even know who I am. You won't understand how I feel-"

"Don't go." A weak grip on the hem of his shirt.

Nico turned wide eyes at the son of Apollo whose eyes were shadowed by his bangs. He swallowed, "I'm sorry." He stepped back, out of reach and then-

"NICO!" Wide pale blue eyes and tear-streaked cheeks.

-he was swallowed by shadows and taken away from the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's not the end? It was supposed to end this chapter (I even already had an ending in mind!) but then it got longer and longer and. well, this happened. Next updated will be 'Loving You 'Til It Hurts'. Thank you for all your support! Comments, reviews, and everything else are welcome!
> 
> (In the end I was too shy to send this fifth chapter to those who volunteered to look it over, didn't want to be a bother)!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm not really sorry. Hehe, so this was the heartbreaking story I told everyone to keep an eye out. You know, it makes sense though. Nico di Angelo who went to the underworld to bring Bianca back when Thanatos was kidnapped, I wouldn't be surprised if he went as far as staying with Will in the Fields of Asphodel if he ever went there. It's like, he knows what it feels like to be alone so even if Will doesn't remember, he'd rather not have him be alone.
> 
> It's sad like that.
> 
> Also, this was only supposed to be a one-shot. I don't know if I should make a chapter two XD I just wanted to portray this side of Nico. I'm undecided on a chapter two O_O
> 
> So yeah, thanks and stay tuned in to my less heartbreaking works? Leave reviews and everything!
> 
> Love solangelo as much as I do? Come by my [tumblr](http://emrysblu.tumblr.com/tagged/solangelo)!


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